


Coalescence

by sexyorcsingles



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: 'enemies' to lovers, Dialogue Heavy, F/F, Lots of plot, POV Third Person, Past Relationship(s), Slow Burn, Trans Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, Trans Moira O'Deorain, this PROBABLY wont have smut or anything extreme but if it comes up ill bump up the rating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28004688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sexyorcsingles/pseuds/sexyorcsingles
Summary: "Sounds like you were like an old married couple.""The only thing either of us were married to was our work. ...However, our affair together was an office secret."~Reaper and Moira joined Talon to take it down from the inside as they knew Overwatch would be shut down. Angela rejoins the newly formed Overwatch five years after it's shut down, though wonders if it's really the right choice.  In one way or another, both reflect on their past relationship with each other. And as Overwatch and Talon intersect once again, they're forced to confront any lingering feelings they might have.
Relationships: Moira O'Deorain/Angela "Mercy" Ziegler
Comments: 18
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if you like this and go to my profile looking for more because all my other fics are skyrim ocs
> 
> also that title is 100% a placeholder it'll probably change in the future

A tall figure stood on the balcony of an elegant building, looking out over an elegant city. Her legal work was finished for the day. Her other work was just getting started. But it was work that had to wait for her companions, which left her watching the sun descend over the pristine city before her. She wouldn't complain… much, anyway. Her high office meant her balcony had quite the view. What a view it was at this hour. Idly, she wondered how often she would be able to see it again after tonight.

Moira didn't fully know what to expect. The message from Gabriel left much to the imagination, and yet, none at all. News was going to be brought that would set in place quite the turn of events, where the outcome was… questionable at best. The plan was hardly a plan at all, a skeleton that would be added to as events carried out. But as much as she hated it, there was no other option. Too many variables lay on the table that trying to flesh it out would lead to ruin if anything was even slightly deviant. 

With a low sigh, she drummed the tips of her nails against her (frankly ridiculous) headpiece. Really, she couldn't stand the damned thing, but she knew the hard way that her colleagues at Oasis took the dress code very seriously. Of all the things in the world that a group of scientists dedicated to their research should care about! 

Thankfully, her internal complaining was interrupted by the ding of the elevator, and a familiar smell of smoke reaching her nose.

"How kind of you to join me this evening." She idly commented, not looking back at her companions. She could tell by the footsteps Gabriel had brought their mutual friend. This was going to be an interesting night.

She didn't get a reply. She didn't get any words at all, as a matter of fact, just a typing noise.

"Cameras are off, Gabe." Sombra said, the smirk on her face audible. How she loved to push the Reaper's buttons.

"Good." Was his reply, though annoyance crept into his tone despite his best intentions. "Moira. Get over here."

With a sigh, the doctor vanished into a wisp of smoke, appearing again beside her companions. They both stood at her desk, and she joined between the two. Gabriel let out a huff of annoyance.

"I didn't spend years of my life in university to be addressed as Moira, you know." She mused. She was ignored, however.

"You're sure the cameras are off?" This was directed at Sombra.

"Positive. As far as they know, she's still just admiring the view."

"Good." Gabriel reached up to pull off his mask, looking up at Moira. Exhaustion was sunk into every pore on his scared face, but it always was. If there was anything else there, she didn't know- she had never been good with body language and facial expressions. Looking people in the eyes was bad enough.  
"This is it." Was what he told her.

"And what exactly is 'it'?" She replied, looking down at them both. She stood high over Gabriel. She towered over Sombra.

"You didn't tell her?" Sombra whispered at Gabriel, but it was loud enough that Moira could hear her fine. 

"I figured it was better shown."

"So it's something I can see then. How intriguing." That had her look to Sombra for direction. She was the tech person, after all. Sombra just gave her a grin, pulling up a screen out of nothingness and tapping a few buttons.

Before her, a familiar ape's face began to speak. Moira's breath caught in her throat the second she saw it, and she leaned in closer to the screen. 

"They're recalling Overwatch." Moira noted breathlessly after a half minute of silence, pulling back to look over at Gabriel. "Despite its illegality? I would have never expected Winston to be so bold. I believe doing the illegal things had been our job."

Gabriel scoffed. "As much as Morrison loathed to admit it." Then he shook his head. "Now we have to act sooner than I expected."

"And does Talon know yet?"

"Not yet. Sombra is going to be sending over the information officially after our meeting."

Moira side eyed the woman beside her, who just gave her a finger-wiggling wave and a smirk. Moira returned her gaze to the other side of her.

"So we have… what, a half hour?" She let out a low sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fantastic. Years of planning and ideas culminate in half an hour." She could already feel a headache coming on.

"Better then nothing." He told her, annoyance creeping into his tone once again. "We know about it first."

She steepled her fingers as she spoke. "That we do. Which means we have that first step, however minor. And what of the Overwatch agents?"

Gabriel nodded towards Sombra, who pulled a second screen out of nowhere, laid on top of Winston's ending message. This was a list of familiar faces, all listed with locations nearby. Despite herself, she immediately sought out a very familiar face, looking to her location. How far away was it? Had they been practically neighbours all this time, perhaps?

Internally, she kicked herself for looking. Really, so many years between them without so much as a word, she shouldn't have cared so much about how hypothetically far apart they might have been. That chapter of her life was far, far in the past, so why did it matter so much to her? To the point that she knew it would have kept her up all night if she didn't check. Old habits, and old feelings, certainly did die hard it would seem.

"You have quite the talent." Moira idly praised as her eyes hungrily took in the information.

"Well would you look at that. At least someone appreciates me." Sombra reached around Moira to gently hit Gabriel's shoulder. He let out an annoyed huff.

"So," Moira spoke, finally satisfied with what she saw. Egypt. Well it certainly made sense for her… What a mess had been made of Cario, after all. Of course she would go there to clean up. "We have the recall. We have our list. We have our head start on things. Shall we make use of it?"

"We don't have a choice." Gabriel replied. "We do it, or we die trying."

She couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, you won't be dying. We've long since made sure of that."

"Right. I'll just be in eternal agony forever."

"That's the spirit."

Moira turned into smoke after she finished that thought, continuing once she appeared in front of an ornate glass cabinet at the side of her office.  
"Over five years we’ve been planning for this.” She noted to her companions, pulling out three glasses and setting them down neatly in front of her. “And it’s all coming to a start as we speak. Frankly, if this isn’t the time for a drink, I don’t know what would be.” A crystal decanter came next, and she poured whiskey into all three glasses. Sombra was the first to come up beside her, clearly interested. Reyes reluctantly followed behind her, and both were given a glass. Moira raised hers. 

“Now then. Here is to us, hm?” Moira mused, looking down at the two. “And the half hour we have to start a plan over five years in the making.”

That made Sombra raise an eyebrow, but the woman didn’t comment. Instead she just raised her own glass, and the three of them drank.

“Enough messing around.” Gabriel said firmly, setting his glass down. “We have work to do.”

Moira couldn’t help but roll her eyes, though she hardly felt annoyed. “Impatience will be your downfall, Gabriel.” She warned with a sly smile. “Very well. Let us get started.”


	2. Chapter 2

The Watchpoint felt like home. Angela had never personally spent much time in Gibraltar specifically, but all Overwatch Watchpoints had roughly the same layout. It was similar enough to feel like the last one she had called home for years, making her heart hurt with nostalgic longing for days long since past. 

However reluctantly, however much she thought Overwatch should have stayed shut down, Angela had donned her Valkyrie suit and responded to Winston's call. At the exact right time, it had seemed. She had shown up in the middle of the Null Sector attack on Paris, and not a second too soon either. It felt just like old times, everyone working together to stop the attack, and she kept them well and unharmed. But it was seeing the damage after the attack that made her second guess her choice. Even if she was able to help the people there to the best of her ability, was it enough? Had Overwatch once again done too much damage to a city? To the people within?

She tried not to think about it too hard. What was done was done. She had come back, and there was no going back until Overwatch was shut down again. 

If she was being perfectly honest… despite her doubts, it was the most hopeful she had been in a long time.

Angela found herself walking down the dusty, abandoned halls of the Watchpoint. Winston had obviously tried to keep the common areas clean, and there had already been signs of life in areas where Tracer and Mei had frequented when they moved in, but a vast majority of the building was untouched. It was simply made for far more people then the few who had come back to call it home. It sent a pang of that longing into her heart again. Would it ever be full to the brim with people again? Or would it remain the shell of its former self as it was now, dusty and lifeless?

Trailing a hand on the wall to disturb at least a little of the dust, she slowly made her way back to the more lived in parts of the Watchpoint. She had picked a room at random when she arrived, and was extremely thankful she remembered exactly which one it was. As she entered, there was yet another pang of longing. She remembered her old room, decorated to suit her exactly… and she remembered how little she spent there, often instead sleeping on a little cot in her lab or just straight up against a desk. So many days had been spent running on an hour of sleep and three mugs of coffee, when she was so close to discovering a breakthrough in her most recent research. Of course, that lifestyle hadn't changed much when she changed from Mercy to Dr. Ziegler, just what she was staying up for. And now she was back to Mercy, left to wonder what the future held. 

It seemed someone had the sense to clean up a few rooms for the expectation of more Overwatch agents rejoining, so Angela was able to get undressed and fall into bed without having to deal with any sort of cleaning up first. While a blessing at first, with nothing to do, her mind settled on those longing pangs and pulled out all the old nostalgia with a punch to the gut. Working alongside everyone on difficult missions, where she barely knew if she'd get out alive. Long nights in her lab where she'd wake up to a kind blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a lukewarm cup of tea left in front of her. Work parties, equal parts embarrassing and fun. Arguments that she'd spend all day having with a certain someone, just for the fun of arguing, even if it made her want to tear her hair out sometimes…

She let out a low sigh at the last one, rubbing her eyelids gently. Yes, there was no way of getting around being back in Overwatch and thinking of Moira. The Blackwatch scientist, equal parts incredible and terrifying. Someone she bonded with over personal things, and clashed with over moral things. Moira was the only one who could keep up with her though, who truly understood her need to make the world a better place no matter what, even if their methods of trying to make it such clashed badly. But when Blackwatch came to the limelight and Overwatch began to falter, so did they.

With a huff and a slight arm shoving motion, as though trying to physically push the thoughts away from her, Angela tried to think of anything else but that. She had heard Moira was in Oasis last, and… well, she didn't like to consider the rumours she had heard. She knew Moira wanted advancement and knowledge at any cost, but… no, she wouldn't consider it. It was best not to think about it at all.

A knock at her door made her jolt, and she quickly got out of bed and went to the door. Without her Valkyrie suit, she was dressed very simply in just a tank top and thick leggings, which she found presentable enough to open her door in. Winston stood there, offering an apologetic smile.

"Sorry for dropping in," He said. "But… Mei mentioned you had told her about meeting Amari and Morrison in Egypt. Is Amari actually alive? Do you know..?"

She offered him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, I don't know much. Yes, Ana is very much alive and well. They stayed with me in Cairo for a while, but they were chasing after the Reaper. I was told they were going to Europe, so there's a chance they might stop by…"

Winston sighed, taking off his glasses to clean them as he considered his next words. "Right. I had heard that Morrison was… taking things into his own hands, so to speak. I hope to see them back here. We can do so much more together than we ever could fractured and one on one."

"They'll come around. I'm sure of it." Angela reassured, reaching over to put a hand on his shoulder. "Jack is… Jack, but Ana is smart. She'll convince him to come around." Or Reaper would purposefully seek them out and Jack would follow… though she didn't like that thought much.

He nodded in reply. "I hope you're right. The more hands we have on deck, the better. Especially the two of them specifically. I'm… I'm trying my best, but I really could use their leadership here."

"Don't undersell yourself." She told him. "You're doing well. You've brought all of us together, haven't you? And we were able to help Paris during the attack. That wouldn't have happened without you bringing us all together."

He visibly relaxed at her words, seeming to be comforted by them . "I… I suppose you're right. Thank you, Dr. Ziegler. I'll leave you to it."

He turned to leave, but paused before he could. "Oh, I had something for you, hang on!"

"You did?" Angela raised an eyebrow at him, watching him pat himself down before pulling out a small picture frame and handing it over to her.

"I have… a lot of pictures. From the old days. I thought you might want this for your room." He told her as he gave it to her. "Something to help you feel more at home."

"Thank you, Winston." She took it with a smile, brushing her finger over the glass. It was a simple one, just old Overwatch all standing together… but it meant a lot to her.

"I'm glad you came. I was worried… nevermind that. I'm glad we're able to work together again. Maybe it won't be like old times, but we'll be able to make the world a better place."

"I hope so, Winston. Thank you." She said. "I… I wasn't sure if I should come, at first. And if I'm being honest, I'm still hesitant about things."

"I don't blame you. I've wanted to recall Overwatch about a hundred times, and I never did." Winston looked off to the side. "But this time it's different. The world needs us again. I hope I'll… we'll be able to prove that this was the right choice to you, Dr. Ziegler."

"We will."

He smiled once again. She was glad to see it. "Have a good night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm generally swapping between Moira and Mercy POV's per chapter, but idk how long I'll do that for


	3. Chapter 3

Three stood in a room, attention divided between completely different things. The tallest, dressed far more casually then she did at work, poured over scientific papers on her laptop while drumming her long nails on the kitchen table as she did. The (literally) smoking one was staring out the window, as though he expected something to come through it despite how high off the ground they all were. The third was digging through the fridge.

"Hey Doc, why does your fridge mostly consist of three jars of pickles and a Gatorade?" A bewildered Sombra asked, peeking over the door of the fridge to look over to Moira.

"Oh, you know." Moira vaguely replied, just waving her hand in her direction without even looking at her.

Sombra blinked. "¿Es en serio? How could I possibly know? I'm a hacker, not a mind reader."

Moira just continued to wave her hand vaguely, muttering something mostly to herself about electrolytes and having hobbies. Sombra rolled her eyes in reply before shooting a glance over to Reyes. He didn't look away from the window, causing her to huff and go back to her snooping.

"Please, sit down, stay awhile." Moira eventually said to Reyes, exasperation dripping from her voice. "Really Gabriel, it's my home and you act like you're expecting to be jumped. And while I can't speak for Sombra-"

"Hey!"

"-I have no plans on doing so."

He glanced back at her with those tired eyes. She almost felt bad for him… almost. He was like this because he asked for it, after all. And she didn't feel anything in her right arm because of that choice.

"It feels like we're being watched." He told her. "I don't like it."

"Relax Gabe," Sombra said, deciding to steal the unopened Gatorade in the fridge for herself. She leaned against the counter as she spoke and tore off the plastic. "I'd know if there was any tech around us trying to spy in. We're totally fine. Relax."

"I could do without you making yourself that comfortable." Moira noted with a glance over at Sombra, who just winked. She looked back over to Reyes as she spoke again. "However, she has a point. Now come and sit."

Reluctantly, Gabriel pulled himself away from the window and sat down at the table. Sombra joined the two of them, pulling up a screen in front of her, which Moira shut her laptop to see better.

"So we have all sorts of interesting information about our dear friends in Overwatch." Sombra told them with a grin. "Especially after the Paris attack. Officially, Overwatch is back to the world. That ape confirmed it himself after the attack."

"Who do we know is there?" Reyes asked.

"Moira will be pleased to know Mercy is." Sombra winked at Moira, who flushed a soft pink and let out an indignant noise. Sombra didn't give her any room to squeeze in anything to say, just continuing.

"The ape, obviously. One Dr. Mei-Ling Zhou-"

"Wasn't she a part of Ecopoint?" Gabriel asked Moira. "I didn't know much about them, but they were a part of Overwatch, stationed down in Antarctica." Moira just shrugged in reply. She recognized the name from a few papers she had read on a whim, but nothing more.

"Right… if you're done interrupting." Sombra shot Reyes a glance. "That time weirdo, that big armoured guy, and some armoured girl with a mace. Your favourite little cyborg is there too."

"Tracer, Reinhardt, Genji… who would the armoured girl be?" Gabriel looked between them both. Sombra scanned through the article.

"Brigitte?"

"That's Torbjorn's youngest." Moira noted, having absolutely no idea how she remembered that or even where she learned it. Then thinking about it for a second more, she knew exactly how she knew it from. It always went back to Angela, didn't it? She had told her about Torbjorn's family when she mentioned visiting them for the holidays.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at that, but accepted it for the answer. "What about Morrison?"

Sombra shook her head. "No mention of him. I figured you'd ask, so I tried to do a probe out for him, but I haven't heard anything yet. I'd imagine though, that he's still looking for you."

He snorted dryly. "Of course he is."

Moira drummed her fingers on the table, thinking over those names. All so familiar… and all who she wasn't surprised to see back in this new Overwatch. She half wondered if the plan was going to let her see Angela again. Her heart fluttered at that. 

"What about anyone else?" Moira asked. "I'm sure you've done more research then just looking at the news."

"Of course I have. Don't sell me short." Sombra grinned. "Sorjourn replied to Winston, but she's still in Canada. An Amari was contacted too."

"Ana? Isn't she dead?" Moira looked to Reyes.

"You'd think." He muttered. At Moira's clear confusion and interest, he continued. "She's missing an eye, but she's alive. She was tagging around with Morrison last I know. I don't know how she survived or what she's been doing all these years, but she's alive. And she knows full well who I am… and what I've become."

"Yes yes, she knows you've hit your mid life crisis and you're having your dramatic phase." Moira waved her hand dismissively, earning an annoyed huff from him. "But why would Winston contact her? How does he know she's alive?"

"He doesn't." Sombra interrupted. "If you'd let me finish… I said an Amari, not Ana. He contacted her daughter."

"Fareeha? Ana never wanted her to join Overwatch, she outright refused to allow it." Reyes noted, stroking his chin as he thought. "Winston must be desperate for people."

"Who could blame him? I don't know if you saw the size of the robot Null Sector attacked with in Paris, but… they need as many hands on deck as they can muster." Moira noted, tapping her nails on the table. "I certainly hope we won't have to deal with such a monstrosity." 

"That's why we're here, and not in Overwatch." Reyes pointed out.

"Aw, I'm hurt. You two don't think I could hack a machine that size?" Sombra gave a slight pout, flipping her half empty bottle onto the table. "I had to do it in Russia."

"You mean the time we were there and you didn't confirm the kill?" Reyes growled at her, annoyance creeping into his voice.

"I wasn't in Russia then to see it." Moira stated the obvious without batting an eye.

Sombra just snorted dryly. "I'm surprised Gabe here didn't complain allll about it to you. He still refuses to get off my case about it. At least Amèlie got over it."

"Isn't that just because she can't feel anything?" Moira pointed out. "Though, around you, I'm sure you could drive anyone to feel annoyed…"

She just winked. "I try my best."

"Enough." Reyes said firmly. "Anyone else, Sombra?"

"Ah, yeah. There was some weird looking ominic at the Paris attack, but I couldn't find much information on her." Sombra pulled up another screen, pulling up a visual of a white and blue robot.

"Echo." Reyes said quickly the moment he saw her. Sombra gave him a look of surprise.

"You know it?"

"Know it? I had to give permission for her creation." He chuckled softly. Moira noted he seemed genuinely pleased at how quickly he recognized the robot. "Dr. Liao proposed the idea to me and Morrison after the ominic crisis. Wanted a robot that could adapt to anything."

"Dr. Liao was a brilliant scientist. We never spoke much, but when we did, it was riveting." Moira tapped her fingernail tips together. "I was amazed that she joined Overwatch. Her passing was certainly a tragedy."

"So this Liao lady made this weird robot under Overwatch. What happened to it until now, though?"

"She was put into stasis after Dr. Liao died." Reyes told her. "But to be brought into Overwatch again, and to be having an active fighting role…" He trailed off at that, brow furrowing in thought. Moira watched him for a moment, before looking back to Sombra.

"Well. It looks like they certainly have a party going on."

"Heh. They won't have room for any of us at this rate."

"Implying they'd want us at all." Moira wove her fingers together and rested her chin atop them. "The whole reason Blackwatch was needed was because the rest of Overwatch has such horrible black or white thinking. They can't see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Doing anything 'bad' on the path for a better future is inexcusable."

"Sounds like something you've complained about a lot. Something you discussed with your girlfriend?" Sombra smirked as she spoke, leaning in closer to Moira, who flushed.

"I don't even want to know where you heard about that." Moira muttered. "Yes, it was something I discussed often with Ang- Dr. Ziegler. And it was something she argued with to me for hours. So painfully shortsighted…" Despite herself, she let out a wistful sigh at the end. How she missed those long discussions.

"Sounds like you were like an old married couple."

"The only thing either of us were married to was our work." Moira said matter-of-factly. Then she paused and offered Sombra a sly smile. "Our affair together was an office secret."

That got a loud laugh out of Sombra, which snapped Reyes out of his thoughts, shooting her a small glare.

"Aw, come on Gabe," She purred. "A little laughter won't hurt you."

"It is the best medicine, after all." Moira added, though felt a little off as she said it. She was repeating a line she had heard often, after all. Reyes seemed to notice that too, looking away from them.

Sombra didn't seem to notice, instead just closing a few of her screens before blowing up a new one. 

"So, for the plan given to us by the big boss." Sombra said, causing the other two to look at her. "We're joining a group heading to France. Higher ups want to use the chaos that the Null Sector attack caused to steal some fancy weapon locked up in some lab."

Reyes paused a moment. "So if, say, that laboratory hired Overwatch as last minute guards…"

"And it just so happened to slip right under your nose, due to investigating other leads for Talon." Moira added.

Sombra smirked. "Then who could be to blame if it fell into the most protected place from Talon?"

Reyes snorted dryly. "That's putting it lightly. When they sent me in to do your job with the ape, somehow he managed to take out the whole squad of Talon agents before I could even finish the download. With this reformed Overwatch there, I don't think an army could get in."

"So then… it seems as though such things would be out of our hands." Moira noted. "After all, how were we to know they'd be there? We should just focus on the mission best we can, because we can't afford any setbacks."

"Sounds like a plan." Sombra said, closing the screen in front of her. "After all, I was busy trying to find out what all the other recalled Overwatch agents are doing. How was I supposed to know they were going to be taking on a job like this so soon? After all, they're still illegal. Who would be ballsy enough to hire them?"

"Who indeed." Reyes muttered, leaning back in his seat.


	4. Chapter 4

"We're going back to France so soon?" Mei burst out, a hand going to her mouth.

It was late evening at Gibraltar, with a handful of members of the new Overwatch sitting around a table. Winston had just finished explaining their newest mission- A independent laboratory in France, due to the nature of their research and the recent Null Sector attack, called up Overwatch to ask for help guarding their research. It seemed that their role in stopping the Paris Attack had benefited them greatly, putting them in high regard with the French. 

Winston had gathered up a small group for just that- around the table sat Mei, Angela, Brigitte, and the newly recruited Fareeha Amari, who had arrived the night previous. Certainly not exactly an expected team, but Winston had explained it as they were the best he could spare. 

Winston offered Mei a sheepish smile. "I was surprised by it too. I didn't expect people to open their arms up to us so quickly either. But they specifically said they wanted us to come by. Well, mostly because they wanted to avoid getting the government involved. But that's still good for us!"

"But why us specifically?" Tracer asked, her elbows on the table and her chin resting on her palms. "I mean, you're not even going!"

"I'm needed here. And I don't want to leave the Watchpoint sparsely populated now that we're beginning to have a good amount of members." He explained. "You're a mix of the people I could spare and the people best suited for the job. On top of that, you either have good reputations, or you're not very well known. Dr. Ziegler is still held up highly for all her work, Tracer, you're mostly known for being a help around London, and Mei is known for her research. Ms. Amari, you have quite a lot of experience in guarding things from what I hear." He chuckled as he said the last part, looking over to her.

"Pharah is fine," Fareeha told him. "And yes, I do. The lab will be in good hands."

"Well, we can certainly put frequent travel on the pros list when we're recruiting people!" Angela noted with a smile. "I suppose I'll be keeping an eye on you during a mission once again, Tracer."

"But why me?" Brigitte asked. "Wouldn't I be better suited here? There's a lot that needs to be fixed, after all."

"You're right. And normally, I'd send Reinhardt." Winston said. "But I need his help with something here, and he speaks extremely highly of your abilities. I'm counting on you to keep Mei and Dr. Ziegler safe for me!"

"He speaks that highly of me..?" She murmured, then immediately lit up and nodded. "Of course! You can count on me, Winston."

"As for everything that needs to be fixed, I'm hoping your father will respond to me soon." Winston glanced away, over at a holographic display of the Earth. "I'm sure he's more than done with having a fighting role, but his expertise would be a great asset… not that your own knowledge isn't important, Brigitte!" 

She waved off his concern. Her spirits were too high to let anything bother her now. "Better to have four hands then two!" She said brightly.

"Well… if we're going to be going so soon, we better go and get ready!" Mei stood up. "Why do they need us so soon though? Is there something else going on?"

"All they told me was about the Paris Attack making them worried about their work. I'm sure you'll be home after a week or two." Winston told her. "Give them time to figure out a more permanent solution, and to let their paranoia calm down."

"Hopefully it isn't long." Fareeha said, though she had a good natured twinge to her voice. "If I wanted to keep guarding things, I would have just stayed with Helix."

"You'll get your time in the action soon enough." Tracer reassured her, putting a hand on her arm. "We're all really excited to see how you do in a real fight!" 

With that much, the group split up. Mei went off to her room, and Fareeha pulled Brigitte aside to ask her something about her armour. Winston, after making sure Fareeha wasn't paying any attention to him, pulled Angela aside.

"You'll keep an eye on her, won't you?" Winston asked her in a soft voice. "Not that I don't trust her abilities, but…"

"It's her first official mission. I understand." She reassured. "I will, I promise. I'm sure she'll be as wonderful as her mother."

"Speaking of… I still haven't heard anything from her." He frowned. "I've hardly been able to find anything about her location. I hope she rejoins us. I really could use her guidance. I'm a scientist, not a leader the way her or Morrison were."

"You're doing just fine." Angela gently pat his shoulder. "Look at us, already getting ready for our first official mission as a reformed Overwatch! You led us here, Winston. You led all of us here. Don't underestimate yourself."

He smiled warmly at that. And with his goodbyes, he left her to get back to work. Angela couldn't help but cast a look over to Brigitte and Fareeha over to the side, furrowing her brow. Two girls born with a parent in Overwatch. She was sure Brigitte would be happy to work alongside her father if he joined up, but what about Fareeha? She always seemed irritated at her mother's refusal to let her join Overwatch. She thankfully knew that Ana was alive, but Ana hadn't mentioned being in regular contact with her. What would happen if Ana came back to lead them? 

Questions for another time, she supposed. She watched the two women for another few moments, before walking off back to her room. And though she didn't feel it right to mention to Winston, she really did miss Ana's guidance as well. Her company in general... She looked up to the older woman like a second mother, and hoped they'd be able to work alongside each other again.

Her walk back, however, was interrupted by her walking right into someone. Her nose noticed them first- they smelled overwhelmingly of gunpowder and tobacco. Which made Angela recognize a certain cowboy immediately.   
"Jesse!" She said in delight, taking a few steps back and looking up to McCree. He grinned at her, tipping his hat up.

"Well now, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" He said with a chuckle. "It's been too long, Angela. I was hoping I'd run into you sooner or later."

"If I had known you were here, I would have come to see you far sooner." She replied. "When did you arrive?"

"Late last night. Been sleeping in since then." He admit, his grin turning a bit sheepish. "Been real busy, let me tell you. Had to go and get Echo, and had a run in with some old friends in the process."

"Ah, yes, Echo mentioned you! And mentioned how you left her to find her own way here…" She gave him an amused, pointed look.

McCree pointedly avoided Angela's gaze. "Well, er, flying robot and all, I doubted she needed any help…"

"She told us she hitchhiked with ominic hillbillies."

He kept avoiding her gaze. "Lots of types in America…"

She just laughed, rolling her eyes at him. "Yes, well, I'm glad to see you all in one piece. It's wonderful to see you again. It's really starting to feel like the old Overwatch again."

"Just new and improved. Just like my facial hair." He scratched his beard as he spoke. 

She snorted. "Jesse, I certainly hope you're not planning on smoking while you're here. It's bad for your health."

"Aw, but doc, I know you'll keep me patched right up." 

"Not if you're doing it to yourself." She replied exasperatedly. "I know you're dedicated to your whole cowboy thing, but you don't need to have the lifespan of one of those old cowboys."

"I've made it this far, haven't I?" He asked with a grin. "Now then, where were you off to in such a hurry?"

“An Overwatch mission, if you’ll believe it.” She said. “Somehow, we already have people needing our help. Winston’s sending a few of us off to France to lend a hand there.”

“Well I’ll be.” McCree genuinely did seem surprised by that, but there was something else in his expression that Angela couldn’t read. “Looks like Paris really did give y’all a head start. I just wonder… nah, nevermind.” He shook his head, then just chuckled as he looked down at Angela. “Miss Popular over here. Hope you like traveling.”

“It’s definitely something I’m used to. Part of the perks of the job." Angela replied brightly. "Though I also spent a lot of time cooped up in a lab… it seems like this career path gives a lot of both extremes. But…" She hesitated a moment, not sure if she wanted to ask. "What were you going to say?"

"Nah, don't worry about it." McCree shook his head. "Don't want to distract you any longer. I'll try to see you off tomorrow, yeah?"

"I look forward to it." Angela told him. With that, they said their goodbyes, and she left him be. Once Angela was out of sight, McCree's brow furrowed, and he went to go find Winston.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ladies, this is your captain speaking!" Tracer announced, hands expertly controlling the ship like it was an extension of herself. "We are currently over France. It is currently 13 o'clock, mildly cloudy, and about 15°C!"

"You're having too much fun with this." Brigitte noted, bringing a hand to her mouth to try and stifle her giggles. 

"Course I am! Y'know how great it's been to be able to fly? And I've been able to do it twice this month!" Tracer cheered in reply. "This is completely my element, Brigitte!"

"Maybe we should get you a set of rockets then." Fareeha mused, crossing her arms. "You can see what really flying is like."

"Hey, if you're offering!"

"Tracer, how much longer until touchdown?" Angela asked, leaning over to get a better look at the pilot seat. 

"Hmmm…" Tracer looked towards the navigation system, then out the window. "I'd give us about t-minus 30 minutes. Feeling antsy, doc?"

"Maybe a little." She smiled sheepishly, despite Tracer not being able to see it. "It's got me a little fluttery to think about this being our first real mission. I mean, Paris was a lot different. This is official and requested."

"I get what you mean." Mei told her, adjusting her glasses as she spoke. "I feel like I could run a mile on it alone!"

Pharah chuckled, looking over at the two of them. "Relax. Even with Null Sector kicking up around Paris, what's the worst that could happen? By the sounds of it, barely anyone even knows about this lab, let alone what they're doing. We're going to be in and out in no time."

"If we're going to have so much free time, how about a game of pick-up?" Brigitte asked, a mischievous sparkle in her eye. "Loser has to buy lunch for the rest of the group?"

"Oh, you're on." Pharah replied, grinning at her.

As the two of them continued on with their teasing and boasting and Mei struck up a conversation with Tracer, Angela looked out the window and let her mind wander. Her mind decided to go back to that morning, before they had all left.

~

The first official new Overwatch mission had gathered a lot of attention. That was to be expected- a little celebration, moreso just for the fact that Overwatch was properly becoming an organization instead of just all of them gathered under the Watchpoint's roof. Angela had been moving her bags onto the ship when McCree had started to quickly weave his way through the crowd, a hand on his hat as he uttered small apologies to people as he bumped into them. Angela had been about to call out a greeting to him, but it got caught in her throat when she noticed how grim he looked.

"Jesse, what's going on?" She said instead as he came up, her own brow knitting in concern. "You look like you were told someone you knew died. That didn't happen, right?" She felt instant regret at her choice of words, hoping that wasn't the case.

He hesitated for a moment, clearly not sure of his words. "You can't go."

"What?" She asked, completely caught off guard.

He rubbed the back of his head, before taking his hat off and resting it against his chest. "Look, I can't explain it, so I know this is going to sound real stupid. But I've got a mighty bad feeling about this trip. Call it a premonition."

"But a premonition of what?" Angela asked. "Winston himself said it would probably be a brief and easy job."

McCree sighed. "Yeah, I know. It isn't much to go on. But something bad is going to happen. I don't know what, but I just know it."

"Then if that's the case, it's even more reason I should go." She said firmly. "Who else will keep everyone safe? I'm the one with the most real mission experience, after all."

"You're real stubborn, aren't you?" He tried to sound more good natured about it, but she could tell the strain in his voice. "Just… promise me you'll be careful, won't you? I don't often get bad feelings like this, but I've learned to trust my gut. Something is going to go wrong."

"If it'll help you feel better, I promise I'll keep an eye on everyone's backs." She reassured, putting a hand on his arm. "I've always kept everyone coming home safely on missions like these."

"Suppose you're right." He didn't seem very convinced, but he nodded and put his hat back on his head. "I'll put my faith in you yet again, doc. Just make sure you're not doing anything too risky. You're far too needed to go and get yourself killed protecting some random lab."

She smiled up at him. "Don't you worry, Jesse. I'll come back safe."

~

Now that she had the time to reflect on it… what had McCree meant by all of that? He had seemed so completely convinced that something bad was going to happen. And while she wanted to put faith in Winston and his assurance that it wouldn't be a difficult mission at all, what if there was something he didn't know? Her own guts were twisting as her anxiety grew, though she tried not to let it show on her face. She didn't want to share her worries with the group- the last thing any of them needed was a pit in their stomachs reminding them that something bad might happen. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone calling her name, and she looked over to Brigitte. 

"Did you hear Tracer?" She asked kindly.

"Ah- no, I didn't."

"We're going to be landing soon. Get ready."

"Danke." Angela gave her a sheepish smile. "I got lost in my thoughts, I suppose." 

"Yeah, I get like that a lot too. Just wanted to make sure." Brigitte smiled back.

Angela leaned back in her seat. There was no going back to her worries now, so she tried to keep her spirits light. After all, what really was the worst that could happen?

~

Hours apart from Overwatch, a lone Talon airship flew silently through the sky.

"You're the worst thing that ever happened to me, you know." Reaper muttered, soft enough that only the doctor beside him could hear.

"What a funny way of thanking me for saving your miserable life." Moira replied, resting her chin on the palm of her left hand.

They were together in the ship, sitting away from the rest of the agents like the goth kids in a school cafeteria. Moira was watching Widowmaker, who was staring blankly out the window. The ship was small- it held the three of them, and a few nameless Talon soldiers Moira didn't recognize. Certainly not their best talent, but it was supposed to be an easy job. Moira and Widowmaker only came along because the higher ups had concerns about Widowmaker having more emotion then she was supposed to, along with the added benefit of Moira being able to patch up any bruises that might have been obtained. But she was first and foremost on babysitting duty, to make sure Widowmaker behaved accordingly.

Of course, if she didn't, she'd chide her for not being careful and keep it to herself.

"I mean it." Reaper muttered. "If I hadn't ever heard of your stupid thesis paper, I wouldn't have gotten this idea stuck into my head, and I wouldn't be in this constant agony."

"You shouldn't blame me for your own mistakes." She replied, picking at her nails. "You realize I'm in a similar agony? Because I had to test your stupid idea on myself, because someone had to rush my research and leave me without a proper human test subject other then myself?"

"You told me you only took a minor dose."

"I did. It doesn't change that my arm is permanently deformed, and I can barely feel anything with it." She glanced towards him as she spoke. With his face covered, she had absolutely no idea what was running through his head. "I can't even feel my pulse in that arm. We're both messed up, no point in whining about it now."

"Sometimes I wake up, and I'm more smoke than man."

"You think I don't have the same?"

They both fell silent after that. Moira made a note to start researching into a painkiller that might help Gabriel.

It was quiet for a while, until Widowmaker pulled herself from her window and walked over to the pair.

"What should I expect on this mission?" She asked Reaper. "I was told the basics, but that you would give me the rest."

"It's just a normal retrieval mission." He told her. "There shouldn't be many guards. Clear the perimeter, and I'll be moving in with our agents. Inside shouldn't be anything we can't handle."

Widowmaker let out a neutral noise of confirmation. "Anything I shouldn't shoot at?"

"Go for the kill on anyone you see." He replied.

"Other than us, of course." Moira halfheartedly added.

"Other than us." Reaper repeated with a snort.

Widowmaker's expression didn't change. "Alright." Was all she said, before going over to sit back down.

"I like her more when she's pretending not to be annoyed at Sombra." Moira muttered. "Such a universal feeling." 

"Shut it." He replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not totally sure how to properly tag characters on ao3, so if I'm over/undertagging, let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

Things passed by quickly for Angela. Landing was quick, living arrangements were sorted away, posts were set. Frankly, it was as easy going as it could have been. Some of the scientists seemed surprised they were there at all, hardly the paranoid sort that Winston assumed they would be. They didn't seem to think much of the Null Sector attack at all. And while that did make Angela wonder, especially with McCree's warning in mind, the pleasant aura around the place soon eased any worries. It was a beautiful evening, and the land surrounding the laboratory was calm and lovely, albeit rather hilly for France. The building itself was wide but somewhat short, most of its floors underground.

With how relaxed it was, and how unphased everyone seemed to be… well, it didn't take long for the official Overwatch guard to let their guard down. All it took was finding a makeshift hoop in the back of the lab they were supposed to be guarding and Brigitte locating a ball, and they all pretty much gave up any pretense of guarding. Fareeha, Brigitte, and Tracer went into a competitive game of pick-up Basketball, with Mei and Angela sitting aside and trying to at least pretend like they were doing their jobs. But they weren't really phased by it. There were a few regular guards nearby who were hardly doing their jobs either, one looking like she was heavily considering joining the game. No one just seemed to care about this supposed threat to anything, and who could blame them? They were so out of the way that the Paris attack seemed like it happened in another century. 

Angela didn't mind at all, frankly. If this whole thing was going to be an invitation for relaxation and just casually helping out whenever they were needed, she would eagerly take it. She had a pleasant conversation with Mei about what she wanted to do now that she was unfrozen, and watched the other women compete. It was pleasant, and as the sun began to set, she found her mind wandering to dinner and if they might be asked to help. 

"I have the shot." Spoke Widowmaker directly into Reaper's ear. Through earpiece, of course. She laid flat on the roof of the lab, watching the group from her scope. Moira crouched beside her, idly tossing a purple ball between her hands.

"What do you see?"

"Fools who have no idea what's coming for them."

Reaper growled. "What do you see?"

She rolled her eyes, though her tone stayed neutral. "Guards playing. Though they have a lot more here then they said they were going to."

"How many?"

"There's about…" She paused to silently count. "Eight here. But there’s someone who..."

She was cut off by Reaper. "That's five more than Sombra said there would be." He noted, annoyance creeping into his tone. "Confirm as many kills as you can, Lacroix. We'll sweep in to clean up the rest."

"Of course." She didn’t finish her previous sentence.

Reaper heard a gunshot, but what followed wasn't something he liked at all. Widowmaker cursed in anger- certainly not a good sign.

"What?"

"The damned- I shot a basketball!"

The setting sun cast a beautiful golden glow over everything. It was amazing how quickly things could fall apart in an instant.

Sniper fire echoed over the field, and the ball in Tracer's hand exploded. She immediately recalled in shock, then her head snapped over in the direction of the shot. "Sniper!"

Things immediately moved. Mei and Angela snapped to their feet, Angela quickly pulling Mei into cover offered by a nearby wall, where Mei quickly set up her Endothermic Blaster. Brigitte grabbed her shield from where it had been discarded for the game, quickly opening it fully and stepping in front of Pharah. Tracer kept blinking randomly while she tried to see where exactly the sniper was.

"What's going on?!" Mei called over to Tracer. "Was that really a sniper?"

"Shot the ball out of my hands! Nearly lost my head!" Tracer replied. "She's over there, in the nook of some big blocky thing on the roof!"

"You're great with words, Lena!" Brigitte told her. "Get behind me, before you actually lose your head!"

Mei hesitantly peeked out from behind the wall as Brigitte and Tracer spoke, gripping her blaster tightly in her hand and wondering if maybe she could make a crazy plan work.

Widowmaker was silent for a few moments, before letting out a sharp gasp. Reaper heard her scramble to her feet, but not in a repositioning way.

"Lacroix! What's going on?" He demanded, putting a finger to his ear. The other Talon agents looked to him in confusion.

"I knew it! Overwatch!" She snapped in reply. "What are they doing here?! You said nothing about there being Overwatch agents here!"

"Overwatch?" Moira repeated, making her presence on the line known. "What do you- give me that." Reaper heard more scuffling, then cursing in Irish.   
"Gabriel, she's right. I don't know who the rest of these are, but Tracer is definitely here, behind some brat with a shield."

"Of course I'm right." Widowmaker replied. "And I-"

Both women's voices were cut off by a harsh blast of wind. Reaper cursed- the static let nothing get through. He was cut off from them. He turned to his agents and waved them over.   
"Don't just stand there. Go!"

What he didn't see was the harsh blast of ice that smacked them in the face. Mei had carefully climbed up the wall for a better angle, hoping and praying she wasn’t going to end up with a rifle pointed at her face, then fired her blaster with everything she could. With the angle and where the two Talon agents were positioned, she was able to completely block off their line of sight, nearly encasing them in the ice. More importantly, and by complete coincidence, Widowmaker’s gun had gotten partly stuck in the ice.

“What is this?!” She demanded from Moira, putting a hand on the ice and immediately snapping it back before it got stuck.

“Emotions, Lacroix.” Moira warned in a low tone. “And it’s ice, but you could have guessed that much. Damn...” She put a finger to her ear. “Gabriel, we’re cut off damn near completely. There’s this huge wall of ice in front of us, and there’s no way she’s going to be able to get out of this without help.”

Reaper cursed, though internally… he knew very much that this was the chance they were looking for. “Lacroix, stay put. I’ll send someone to get you out of there. Moira, are you able to get out of there?”

“I should be able to, yes.”

“I want you to join me down here. If there’s Overwatch here, I need all the bodies I can get, especially if we’re having no sniper fire to back us up.”   
Moira glanced at Widowmaker, who just sighed. “Very well then.” She replied to Reaper. “Lacroix should be fine up here- we’re just as much cut off from Overwatch as they are from us. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

With a final look towards Widowmaker, who had now turned her attention to trying to get her gun out of the ice it was encased in, Moira faded out and started looking for a way down. Though she couldn’t help but wonder if Gabriel was sharing her thoughts- one down, several to go.


	7. Chapter 7

"Mei, that's amazing!" Angela told her, peeking out of cover to see her work. Then she looked over to her comrades, nervously peeking out from behind Brigitte's shield. "Quickly, we don't know if they'll be able to reposition. We need to get inside and get ready- it's definitely going to be followed up by something else. It isn't just some lone sniper shooting at us for fun."

They certainly weren't about to object. Brigitte began a careful shuffle step, shield still held high, bringing her team over to the doors. Only when they were for sure out of the range of the sniper did she lower it.

"You definitely saved our bacon, Mei.” Brigitte told her. “I don’t know if my shield could stand up to sniper fire like that. We’re really lucky none of us got hurt.”

“Thank you.” Mei said shyly. “It was scary, but I knew it was our best chance of staying safe.”

"Come on, we can congratulate ourselves later." Fareeha told them. "Dr. Ziegler, you're the most experienced here. Your orders?"

Angela was surprised by that- the way Fareeha took control of the situation so effortlessly, but passed it right onto her as a show of respect. She appreciated it, though wondered if she'd be able to do it right. After all, she was a medic, not a leader.

"Ja, um," She looked between her team. "Pharah, I want you to do a sweep around the rooftops, if you're able to do so safely. I want to have a position on that sniper. If you get into any trouble, retreat instead of engaging. I'm not losing you on our first mission." Fareeha opened her mouth as if to object, before closing it and nodding. 

"Tracer, go around and let everyone know what's going on. I'm sure the guards that we were with have started on that, but you're faster. We want everything going into lockdown- that sniper definitely has muscle behind them." Tracer nodded, saluting Angela before blinking off with a little 'got it!' called back.

"Brigitte, go with Mei and look for any weak points in the existing guard rotation." Angela turned to the other two now. "Brigitte, keep Mei safe. Mei, let me know if you two get into any trouble. I trust Brigitte to keep you patched up if anything happens, enough."

Brigitte puffed out her chest proudly. "It's an honour, Angela. I'll do my very best. She won't have a scrape on her!"

Mei giggled. "I feel very safe! But… Angela, what are you going to do?"

Angela blinked. Ah, she hadn't considered that. "Ah, um, I'll be calling up Winston and letting him know what's going on. If we need immediate extraction or not- as well as letting him do all the heavy communicating with the people in charge." She explained, just saying words as the sentence continued. Thinking back, that was a good plan! "We may need to bring the weapon somewhere else after all, if the building gets compromised. Winston will be able to organize that."

The other women nodded in reply, and Fareeha gave Angela's shoulder a pat. "I'll keep you updated if I see anything." She told her. "Alright everyone, let's get moving."

"We're about to head in." Reaper growled into his earpiece. "Where's your location, Moira?"

"I'm still on the roof, though I’ve gotten out of the ice. I’m looking for a way down." She replied after a few moments of silence. "Don't wait up for me. I'll catch up."

"Right. Try not to get yourself killed up there. We don't know how many more Overwatch agents there are." He told her. "Or who's here, aside from Tracer. Keep me updated if you see anyone you recognize."

With Moira confirming that she would, Reaper gestured to the Talon soldiers, who followed his head in. They burst into the laboratory without mercy, guns ablazing. And though the guards had been informed of what was happening, their lack of care caught up with them. The fight at the entry point lasted mere seconds. Though the alarms blared, Reaper wasn't phased in the slightest. He tossed his empty guns to the side and pulled out a new pair, leading the charge in.

Well, he wasn't phased until a giant mace whipped at one of his soldiers, and another had his head half encased in ice, forcing them to the ground. His masked gaze shot down the hall- a very tall woman and her shorter companion stood there. He recognized the short one. He didn't recognize the tall one, who half made him wonder if Moira would look like that if she hit the gym.

"Well well. Dr. Zhou." He growled. "Back with Overwatch after your time in the freezer?"

Mei faltered a moment, before holding her blaster up firmly. "You're not going to get away with this!" She told him, standing straight as she spoke.

He raised his gun without a second thought, but faster then he could blink, her companion's shield bashed against his face and knocked him firm on his ass.

"Get them!" Reaper ordered, trying to get his bearings. A firm mace to his face ensured that wouldn't happen anytime soon. Unfortunately for him, the boldness of the two Overwatch agents gave enough time for more guards to catch up. The firefight began- it was all he could do to turn into smoke and get behind cover. There, he sat dazed a moment, before putting a hand to his ear.   
"Moira, Widowmaker. Status?"

Widowmaker wasn't having a fun time. While Moira had escaped easily and vanished god-knew-where, she was still stuck, surrounded by all the ice with no easy way of getting out. Moira made escape look easy, just poofing into purple smoke and reappearing on the other side. Widowmaker had no easy grapple points, but even if she did, she would have been completely defenseless without her gun.

“I’m stuck. Still.” Widowmaker replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

Reaper was relieved, in a way. "We’re occupied down here. You’re going to have to sit tight for a while.” He ordered. Widowmaker just groaned in response. "Moira?"

"Getting into the building via roof access." She replied. "I hear gunfire. What's going on?"

"We got stalled, and guards came. We may need your help sooner than I expected." He told her. "I'll keep you updated."

It was one of those times where he was glad for his curse. He was back on his feet faster than any man would be, ready to get back into the fight. But instead of doing that, he thought for a moment. Electing to avoid the fight completely, he vanished into smoke and wisped under the feets of the soldiers and guards, only forming man once he was out of line of sight. He figured the soldiers would keep things busy. After all, he had a job to do. Or, rather, not do. And hopefully Overwatch would help with that.

“In the building.” Suddenly came into his ear. Moira wasn’t sure where she was, but she had managed to squeeze inside and was currently sneaking through the halls. “Making my way down best I can. I saw Overwatch outside, some woman flying around like she was looking for something.”

“You and Lacroix, I’d imagine.” He noted. “Lacroix, keep an eye out best you can.” Despite no reply from the sniper, he kept going. “I’m making my way further in on my own. Dr. Zhou is here, she’s the source of that ice from earlier. She’s with that Brigitte girl, who’s smacking everyone with a mace thing. Reminds me of Reinhardt.”

“I believe Torbjorn had made him her godfather.” Moira replied, peeking around a corner as she spoke.

“Hmph. Did you also learn that from Angela?” He replied, causing Moira to flush on the other end of the line. “At least we have a position on some of them. That’s going to make our lives easier.”

"Dr. Zhou, Brigitte, Tracer…" Moira chuckled. "I always wanted to examine her chronal accelerator. Angela gave me her notes, but it was never the same."

"She's going to be a pain in the ass to deal with now." Reaper grumbled. "She always was a pain in the ass."

"But quite an interesting one. I wonder… no, nevermind. Now isn't the time."

"Planning on putting someone else through eternal agony?"

"You're welcome." Moira retorted. "Focus on the mission. Any guesses on who's left? I didn't recognize the woman flying around outside. Before you ask, no, it wasn't Angela."

"Did you catch any sight of her proper?"

"Not particularly. Hard to make any details, considering I was more focused on not getting noticed then I was anything else." She turned. "Gabriel, your position?"

"Far away from the fight." He had been watching every inch of the halls he walked down as they talked, and he took a moment to examine a map he passed by. "Sombra already let me know where the weapon is being kept, but someone is going to need to be in the security room when it's broken to keep the whole place from blaring an alarm. I was going to have someone else in there, but…" He glanced back in the direction of the distant gunfire and growled. "How quickly can you get to the third floor?"

Moira glanced around, locating the stairs. "Fairly quickly. I'm assuming you want me to deal with the getting in part."

"The sooner we get in and out of here, the better." He grumbled. "With Overwatch being here, we're at more risk then we should be. I don't want to stay long."

"Believe me, the last thing I want to do is be around old coworkers. I mean really, what do you even say? At least you have the benefit of the whole mask thing." Moira muttered, more to herself than Reaper. "I'll make my way there. Let me know when I'm clear to go in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worry that there could be moments that seem to imply I'm heading in a sort of Pharamercy angle- I just want to make it clear that Fareeha just respects Angela greatly, and Moicy is going to be the main focus of this fic. (Nothing against Pharamercy, I just tend to be annoyed at fics that advertise Moicy but have pharamercy elements for some reason, so I want to specify that I'm not doing that :P)


	8. Chapter 8

Many painful years ago for the current Angela, and the stressful present for the past one, she stood in her lab in the Overwatch headquarters, nervously pacing as she awaited the presence of her lover. She had been called here for a 'serious conversation', the topic of which had not been elaborated on, which only made Angela's already shot nerves worse. She had enough on her plate from Overwatch being held under a microscope as their fate was discussed, she didn't want to know what Moira would be adding onto it. Especially when Angela had caught glimpses of her heavily bandaged arm, held up in a sling like it was broken. Moira had neglected to explain in the brief moments they had caught each other- there wasn't enough time was all she had said.

Indeed, there wasn't enough time for anything anymore. With Blackwatch under heavier scrutiny then Overwatch itself, Angela and Moira simply didn't have the time anymore. The most she had seen of her lover was passing by in the hallway while Moira had told her that they needed to talk. The most they had done together was a caste kiss when Moira had just caught Angela before bed days ago, with the Irish woman being on her way to her own lab. Angela tried to hold out hope that maybe it was just an excuse for Moira to steal her away for an hour, to make up for lost time, but… she knew it wasn't. The dread in her stomach was no doubt right- this was going to lead to something bad.

Her fears felt confirmed when Moira finally entered the room, and she just looked terrible. Her hair was greasy, her face pale and gaunt, her arm bandaged up to her shoulder from what Angela could see from her messy lab coat that lay askew. Worst of all, the bandages seemed to be stained with something purple. Moira leaned heavily against the doorway, though raised a hand when Angela started running over to her side. With a breath she didn't realize she was holding, Angela watched as Moira slumped over to the table where she was standing. 

Her mismatched eyes raised to meet Angela's, completely lacking in life in a way that sent a spark of fear into Angela's heart. Was Moira dying? Had something Blackwatch had been doing catch up with her? She wordlessly opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to say something, anything. But instead she just waited wordlessly for Moira to say something.

"You're greying." Was what Moira started with. At Angela's look of confusion, she stood up with a strained huff and reached over, plucking out a hair from Angela's bangs. "See? Grey. You should take better care of yourself, Mo fhíorghra."

That… probably wasn’t the best move for Moira. Angela exploded. “Don’t you ‘take better care of yourself’ me! What’s going on with you? You… you look awful! I feel like I should be seeing you on the operating table, not sitting here talking to me! A few grey hairs are nothing- have you looked at yourself lately? You’ve barely spoken to me lately, you’ve refused to tell me what’s going on with your arm or even let me look at it, and now you’ve called me here for something serious and all you say is about me having a grey hair?!” 

“....seems like you’ve had a lot on your mind.” Moira noted, flicking the grey hair aside as Angela took a breath. “Angela, I know how you are, I’m not going to start off a conversation with the serious things first. But if you’re going to be so insistent...”

“Overwatch is going to be outlawed.” Moira said firmly, raising her hand to stop her when Angela looked ready to interrupt. “I know you want to say it won’t. But there isn’t any way around it. All of our skeletons are coming out of the closet, and Morrison hasn’t been handling things gracefully.” Then she took a breath. “I… Angela, your reputation is golden. I do not want to tarnish you. You will already have being Mercy attached to you forever. I want to split up. You do not need the reputation of dating the mad scientist who doesn’t care about other people’s lives.”

Angela froze for a moment as the words sank in, then tried not to start tearing up as they did. “You’re dumping me?” She asked, in a far softer voice then she had just been speaking in.

Moira went paler, if that was even possible. “No! Angela, no. I want you to be able to survive after Overwatch is shut down. Your research is not yet done, and even with Overwatch on your record, every university and hospital will want you the second you’re out of here. What would people knowing about me- about us do to that? You know my reputation. You know how I am seen over simply a thesis paper. Blackwatch was my only option after what happened, and it’s only because Reyes was able to look past my methods and actually see what I was proposing. I… I would hurt your chances of you being able to do your good after this. Which is why we should split up now, before it can get out.”

Angela felt like her heart had been ripped out and stomped on. Everything on top of everything else, and then Moira doing this to her. And the way it all boiled down to work at the end of the day… Was that all Moira cared about? Was all that mattered was work?

“So that’s it?” Angela said, her tone suddenly getting colder. “It’s all because of my work. You don’t- you don’t care about what I think, you never bothered to ask me what I think, you just want us to split up and be done with it and act like this never happened.” Her nails dug into her palms as she spoke. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hit something. She wanted to stop feeling so concerned about Moira, who was starting to look rather clammy. “Is that why you’ve barely talked about what you’ve been doing? You didn’t want me to get worried, because you knew you were going to drop this.”

Moira put a hand on her temple, closing her eyes. Then she let out a huff, stood up straight, and put her hand on Angela’s shoulder. “Do you think this isn’t hard for me too?!” She demanded, looming over her and looking her directly in the eyes. “Do you think… Do you honestly think I don’t care about you, Angela? That I didn’t spend sleepless nights leading up to this worrying about you, about us, about everything that’s going to happen? Do not treat me like the villain because I’m trying to think beyond the two of us!”

She pulled away, though her hand lingered on her shoulder. Moira looked to her feet. “You are the most brilliant woman I’ve ever met. You are a remarkable scientist, and you’ve done more for the field of medicine than anyone could give you credit for. And I...” Moira trailed off, not looking back to Angela. 

Angela frowned, reaching over and gently taking Moira’s hand in hers, pulling it up to her chest and holding it tightly with both hands. She was regretting her words now, regretting her harshness. Moira just had a way of bringing out an angrier side to her, one she didn’t like to acknowledge she had. How many nights had they spent in debate, where Angela had exploded like she had now, where Moira would sit calmly and talk like everything was normal until Angela felt silly about losing her cool?

“Talk to me.” She begged in a whisper. “Moira- I know this isn’t just about the thesis paper, or Blackwatch, or anything. You’re doing something, I know you are, just talk to me.”

“I don’t want to tell you.” Moira replied, her own voice low. “It isn’t anything you need to know.”

“Please, Moira.”

Moira took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “There is… There are plans in the works. More than I can explain. It’s more complicated than you think. We have planned for Overwatch shutting down, it’s been written on the wall for a long time.”

“We… Blackwatch?” Angela asked, looking up at Moira. 

“Reyes and I. I can’t… I can’t explain to you. I know you want more, but it’s dangerous. I refuse to put you at risk like that.” Moira finally looked at her, putting a hand gently on her cheek. “You’re the most brilliant woman I’ve ever met. You are an angel to so many. You are not someone who can or should be working in the shadows and pulling at strings. You are a symbol for a better world.”

“Is this why you look so sick?” She questioned, rubbing her hand with her thumbs. 

Moira nodded, swallowing thickly before continuing. “We… we may not see each other for a very long time. There is a lot I will be doing. I want you to be able to live your life free of anything that would be holding you back. That means me.”

“...I’m sorry.” Angela breathed, pressing her lips against the back of Moira’s hand. Moira leaned down to press her own to her forehead. 

“I’m sorry.” Was her own reply.

They stood like that in silence, holding each other and being held, lips pressed to skin, seeking comfort that the other couldn’t give, not fully. The air in the laboratory felt thick and heavy, pressing down on the both of them as a weight no comfort could remove. Both women opened their mouths to speak several times, but no words came for a long while. It was hard for Angela to say how long they stood like that. But Moira interrupted the silence eventually.

“I am going to be doing things I know you won’t approve of.” She whispered against her forehead. “When we see each other again, it may not be the meeting you hope for. I hope you’ll understand that I do have your best interests at heart.”

“What are you doing, Moira..?”

“...Please do not think badly of me when it happens.” Was all she said. “I love you, Angela.”


	9. Chapter 9

"Tracer. Updates?"

Mercy had just gotten off the line with Winston, letting him know everything that was going on. He returned with the assurance that if things compromised more, they were to take the weapon and get out of there immediately, back to Overwatch. It was more than likely Talon, and they were given confirmation that the Overwatch base would no doubt be safer than the laboratory. After all, Winston had told her, he had fended off more than plenty of Talon agents trying to hack into Overwatch systems on his own! With how many people there were now, they'd more than be able to handle it.

Mercy then began catching up with all the other agents. Fareeha had seen the ice block on the roof, but didn't want to check it out further as she didn't know what state the sniper inside was in. Brigitte and Mei had informed her about the fight they were engaged in… with Mei adding that a man in all black and a weird mask had recognized her, and then vanished. They were too occupied in their current fight to chase after him. Angela frowned deeply at that, but didn't comment on it other than telling Brigitte to call for backup if needed. 

She knew who it was, of course. Jack and Ana had made the description of former Blackwatch commander and current Talon operative Gabriel Reyes very clear. The Reaper, as he was referred to now.

She wondered if Ana and Jack were close behind, trailing him here for some epic showdown that would lead to him being apprehended, and the two joining Overwatch. If only! She really could have used their guidance now.

The last agent was Tracer, who had informed everyone and had locked up as much as she could. Tracer was silent for a few moments, but answered in a quiet whisper just as Angela was about to call her name again.

"I see that big cloaked bugger Brigitte and Mei mentioned." Tracer told Angela, making her breath hitch. Tracer continued. "Managed to catch some of his conversation. They know Overwatch is here, and he's sending someone to-" Tracer paused, making Angela freeze in fear that she had been caught. After a few seconds, she replied again, and only then did Angela breathe. "-sorry!" She whispered. "He's sending someone up to the room where the weapon is being kept. He's going to security."

"Don't do anything-" Angela began, but she was cut off by Tracer.

"I'm going to go stop him." She replied firmly. "If I sneak up and surprise him in security, the alarm's going to go blaring when his associate breaks in. Whoever's closest needs to go deal with them!"

Angela paused. She was on the second floor- that would have to be her. But could she handle a Talon agent on her own?

"I'll do it. I'm closest." She said firmly. "Tracer, please be careful. Get yourself out of there the moment things start looking grim."

"Angela." Fareeha's voice came on the line. "Do you want me in there with you?"

"No." Angela replied. "I want you to stay on the line and keep an ear out for anyone else who might need you to jump to them." She hesitated a moment. "It may be me. But I don't want you to be focused on me if Brigitte or Tracer need help more."

"Understood." She replied. "Tracer, you let me know if you run into any trouble. Same to you, Brigitte."

Angela, with a sigh, glanced to the stairs, then back down the hall. Then, all she could do was pull out her blaster and start making her way up.

For the most part, breaking into security was alarmingly easy. Reaper turned into smoke and wisped under the door, and he had a guard inside in a chokehold before him or his companion could think. A few gunshots took care of things, and then he made his way over to the security system. He pulled out a little USB stick looking thing from his pocket, then started looking over things. It was from Sombra, who told him it would completely take care of any alarms that might have gone off. While he looked for where he was supposed to plug it in, he fiddled with it in his hand.

"Moira. I'm ready." He spoke into his earpiece. "Are you there?"

"Just one moment." She replied, and an odd sound was heard over the line, then the noise of a body falling to the ground. Reaper was too familiar with that sound to not recognize it. "There we are. For how important this thing is, they're certainly not guarding it how they should be."

"They think we're all at the door. Or they trust too much in their precious Overwatch." Reaper couldn't help but laugh. "I've got this thing ready. Go in."

"Understood." Moira replied, vanishing into smoke.

Unfortunately, Reaper never followed through. He found the port he was supposed to plug the weird little… hacking device into, whatever it was Sombra had given him, but before he could plug it in the door slammed open and it was shot right out of his hand, going skidding across the floor and stopping somewhere under the desk. He turned to see Tracer standing there, twirling her guns to reload them. 

"Don't think we're going to let you get away with things that easily, wanker!" She told him with a glare on her face. As she finished speaking, the alarm started blaring.

"Gabriel! What's going on?!" Moira demanded in his ear. "You told me you were ready!"

"Grab it and go!" Reaper ordered. "Overwatch! You're on your own!"

He turned towards Tracer, raising his guns. "Pest." He hissed. "Overwatch. I'll make you regret coming here."

"I'd love to see you try." Tracer replied, scowling.

Moira was certainly livid. Gabriel couldn't have made sure the coast was clear before he told her he was ready? From the gunshots, she presumed the little hacking thing Sombra gave him had been shot and destroyed, which meant she was met with the lovely song of alarms when she rematerialized inside of the locked room. 

"Brilliant." She muttered under her breath, turning to unlock the door. She might as well, right? It would make for a quick escape- because she certainly wasn't hanging around long. She walked into the room, and put a hand on the briefcase that no doubt held their prize within.

And then, panting like she had just ran up a flight of stairs, Angela Ziegler burst into the room and stared at her in disbelief.


	10. Chapter 10

The second the alarm began to blare, Angela started taking the stairs two at a time, as quickly as she could manage. Her thoughts racing, she hoped with all she could that she wouldn't be too late. And that the Talon agent would be alone. And that Tracer would be safe. And that…

Well, she had a lot of things she was hoping for. Her mind was going a million miles an hour, tunnel visioning on getting into the room and protecting the weapon they were charged with guarding. She only hesitated when she saw the body of a guard slumped in front of the door… and though she knew she was giving up precious time, she crouched behind them and checked for a pulse. Only when she was sure they were dead (though she couldn't see a cause right now- was there really no gunshot? No obvious mortal wound?), did she turn to the door and burst it open. To her surprise, it was unlocked.

To her greater surprise, there stood Moira, her clawed hand resting on the briefcase.

Moira looked to her, an expression of pure shock on her face for but a second. Then it relaxed into something more nonchalant, giving a curt nod of greeting to Angela. As she did, her hand raised to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear… slipping something onto her palm as she did. Angela had absolutely no idea how to read that. Was this actually Moira? But there was no way of mistaking that bright red hair, those mismatched eyes, the looming height, and that hand… her right hand was far paler than the rest of her, a purple hue to it that reminded Angela of the last few days of their relationship, when she wondered if Moira was dying. 

Clearly she hadn't been. But whatever it was, her arm certainly had taken a beating.

"Dr. Ziegler. You're looking well." Moira mused. "You look far softer than I remember. Did you up your estrogen doses?"

"Moira? What are you-?" Angela could barely get the words out, her brain refusing to work at the sight of Moira. Moira was in Talon? Moira was working with the Reaper. Moira was here as her enemy. 

Moira gave her a once over. "Perhaps I should be calling you Mercy, however. This would be your first time donning the name in a while, wouldn't it? After all, I recall you were mostly just Dr. Ziegler while Overwatch was shut down. I'm pleased to see you were putting your skills to work, though I doubt you got much research done in Egypt."

"Were you-"

"Keeping tabs on you? Who's to say?" Moira mused, walking over to Angela in a few long strides. She stood tall over her, reaching up a clawed hand…  
And delicately running it through Angela's bangs, pulling a strip of hair away from the bunch.

"Your greying hasn't gotten any better." She mused, tucking the strand of hair behind her ear. Angela felt the tip of a nail scrape against the inside of her earlobe, but her shock didn't register it, or what happened next. "You should take better care of yourself."

"Don't you talk about- what are you doing here, Moira?" Angela demanded, taking a step back… and hearing a crunch under her heel. With a jolt, she immediately moved her foot aside and looked down to see her own earpiece reduced to a broken mess of electronics, removing her from contact with her team. However… well, it looked like a lot more electronics then it should have been. But what else could she have stepped on?

"You've gotten clumsier." Moira noted. "What am I doing here? Well, I'd think that would be obvious. I thought you'd be able to observe what's directly in front of you, but perhaps…" Moira cut herself off, turning into smoke and making Angela gasp. She reappeared in front of the case holding the weapon, resting a clawed hand on top. "...you've gotten rusty?"

Angela starred in silent disbelief at Moira. The way she vanished and reappeared… it was similar to something Jack had described The Reaper… Gabriel doing. Thinking back to that day that they had officially split, where Moira had looked like she was knocking at Death's door, had this been why? Was this the result of horrible testing? Moira had sometimes complained about the lack of human test subjects under Overwatch, usually just to set Angela off as a way of teasing her. But had Moira meant it more literally, and took to using herself as her own test subject for the lack of any others? Angela was struck with a pang of sudden worry. How could she have been so careless? What if she had died?

But she was drawn out of her thoughts by Moira picking up the case, testing its weight, then arching an eyebrow at Angela. "Is Overwatch not supposed to be protecting this?" She asked, sounding bored. "I know you're a medic, but really Dr. Ziegler, I expected more of a fight from you."

Angela surprised herself and Moira by pulling out her blaster, holding it with a slightly shaky hand and aiming it right at Moira. But Angela hesitantly lowered it after a few seconds. Could she really shoot Moira, even if she was Talon?

"Hm. Well, it's a start." Moira mused, walking over to Angela with long strides once again. She then leaned down over Angela, almost trapping her with her presence. She had so much more height over the good doctor, Angela could only stare.

"Angela." Moira whispered to her. Hearing her name said in that familiar way, rolling off of Moira's accented tongue. It sent her back into the past for just a moment, reminding her of times far less stressful then this very moment. "You know how much force it would take to concuss someone, correct? I need you to concuss me."

"What?!" Angela demanded, staring up at her in surprise.

"Are your ears not working?" Moira questioned. "It's a simple statement, Angela. I need you to concuss me. Quickly, now. And really, don't be lightheaded about it. The last thing we need is it not looking believable."

What the fuck was she supposed to think about this? Moira being more familiar, yet demanding to be concussed for some reason. But that would mean she might as well have been handing the weapon directly over to her. "Moira, what are you-"

Moira sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment. "Angela, I don't have the time for this. I am looking over you and telling you all about my evil plan. You are supposed to clearly see this is a plot to buy time for my allies to deal with yours, and take care of things accordingly. Point one to Overwatch. Now please play along."

Suddenly, Moira's voice took a far more sinister tone, those dual coloured eyes boring into Angela like she was trying to seek out any imperfection and destroy her with it. "I am going to take this weapon. I am going to harm your little friends. I am going to suck the life out of them, and you will be forced to watch. I will take this weapon back to Talon, and they will no doubt do unspeakably evil things with it." She hissed to her, leaning down more and more as she spoke, cornering Angela. Angela, despite what Moira had just said previously, was beginning to feel like a trapped animal, gripping her blaster tight to her chest. "And you will be powerless to stop me, or Talon, because you are a useless little medic who needs everyone else to do everything for her while she puts a plaster on their wounds when all the hard work is done. You will-"

Moira's words were cut off by a noise of surprised pain, as the butt of Angela's blaster was slammed down square on her head, knocking her to the ground, where she slammed her head on the ground. Though Angela had to note that it seemed as though she was throwing herself to the ground for that extra smack against the floor…

She tried not to look a gift horse in the mouth. She pulled the case from Moira's limp grasp, and tried very hard to ignore the small pool of blood forming under her head. She had done what Moira had forced her to do, which was how she tried to reassure away the pit of dread forming in her stomach. 

Angela exited the room, and came face to face with Tracer.

Angela let out a peep of surprise and was ready to run before her brain processed who it was. Tracer put a hand on her shoulder to help calm her.

"I got real worried." Tracer admitted. "You weren't replying to anyone. I took out that cloaked wanker and kept trying to ask how things were going on your end, but I didn't get anything back, so I came as quick as I could." 

Then Tracer looked behind Angela, into the room behind her, noticing the lifeless body on the ground. "Geez! Looks like I didn't need to worry about you Dr. Ziegler! I didn't know you had it in you!"

Angela jumped. "She's not dead!" She told Tracer quickly. "Which means we need to act fast."

"Heh. Guess I shouldn't have been surprised." Tracer chuckled. "You never were that type. Righto then- Winston told you what's what?"

"We have full permission to take this," Angela held up the weapon. "back to Gibraltar. Winston convinced them that there would be the safest place. My earpiece got broken, can you let everyone know what's going on?"

Tracer nodded and turned away to do just that. And while she turned away, Angela let herself glance back to Moira. The way she was laying, the blood pooled around her head, she really did look dead… but she tried not to think about that. She could faintly see her body shuddering as she breathed, the strange tube device on her back rising and falling ever so slightly. She also looked… vaguely smokey. Reminded of the way she vanished and reappeared, Angela looked away and tried to ignore the nagging in her stomach that told her to go take care of Moira. Soon, Tracer waved her along, and she followed, risking a tiny glance back. Only when she confirmed that nothing had changed did she hurry after Tracer, not looking back again.


	11. Chapter 11

"You fucked up, Moira." A low voice spoke above the limp body, arms crossed as he, for once, towered over her.

Her bloody head slowly tilted up, mismatched eyes looking at his masked face. "Gabriel."

"We missed our flight." He growled at her. "You weren't communicating, and the guards were moving in. I had to give the order to evacuate."

"I take it you didn't magically find me and bring me along." Moira said in a nasally voice, gingerly moving to take a look around. They were in a dark, cold room. It reminded her of a basement. As she started to get the sense of her own body back, she immediately winced at the throbbing pain in her head. She was laying on top of a stiff cot, her biotic device resting against a nearby table with all its tubing awkwardly coiled up around it. 

"Easy." Gabriel noted, his voice slipping into concern for a second. "I had to track you down and drag you off to a safehouse. We're going to have to wait here until they can send someone by to get us."

Moira carefully sat up, gingerly resting a hand on her forehead. "I think my nose is broken." She informed him. "And I feel very sticky."

Gabriel didn't reply, carefully taking off his mask and setting it aside. His expression was easy to read this time- poorly suppressed worry. He took out his earpiece along with his mask, resting the device under it to keep their conversation from being listened in on.  
"What happened?" He asked. "You look a lot more beaten then I expected."

"Relax. Overwatch has the weapon." Moira waved her hand dismissively. "I had to think on my feet, but-"

"Moira. That's not what I'm asking."

She paused a moment, then sighed. "What didn't happen? I… Damn it all Gabriel, Angela was there. It just had to be her, didn't it?" She let out a low sigh, rubbing her temples. "She came in. We talked."

He raised an eyebrow and gestured vaguely to her face. "I find it hard to believe that Angela Ziegler would do… this to you."

"I told her to do it." She explained, leaning back against the wall and shutting her eyes. Her sore mind immediately drew back to the interaction. Drew back to Angela's delicate face, confused and hurt and angry. Exactly how she remembered, and yet so foreign. "I acted all aloof for the cameras, and then I told her to concuss me."

"You told… Ziegler to concuss you." Gabriel repeated, before sighing and shaking his head. "I'd be relieved at your quick thinking if it didn't leave you looking like roadkill."

"Pot calling kettle, Gabriel." Moira noted with a roll of her eyes. "Is there a first aid kit here? I assume the safehouse has the basics."

He took a glance around, finding a cabinet and walking over. Moira took the time to gently feel around her face, trying to get a summary of the damage. Her nose was definitely broken, she had a gash on her forehead that most of the blood had presumably come from, and she wasn't sure if she was concussed or not but her head hurt like hell. She tried to run through the symptoms in her head, but it seemed as though the last thing her brain wanted to do was think. Lovely.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Gabriel gently tossing a first aid kit onto her lap. She dug through it, pulling out cotton pads and rubbing alcohol to scrub her face clean of the blood. While she did that, Gabriel sat at the table his mask was set on. He was silent for a few moments, before finally, hesitantly, voicing his thoughts.

"What was it like?" He asked her, his voice abnormally soft. "Seeing her again, I mean."

Moira froze a moment, then sighed. "Difficult. Having to act so strangely to her… and you know how Angela is. Her moods are always expressed so clearly on her face. She knew why I was there the moment she walked in."

She continued to clean her face as she spoke. "You should have seen the look on her face when I faded. She looked so worried, and then…"

"You don't need to keep going." Gabriel told her. "All of this makes me wonder if we should have told Overwatch our plans. You already know how… how Jack and Ana see me."

Moira pursed her lips. "It's easy to wonder that now, but I don't think we made the wrong choice. You know how they would have refused it. Or worse, try to join us with it. Could you imagine Jack trying to pretend to agree with Talon?"

That got a snort out of Gabriel. Moira was relieved- the mention of Jack and Ana had brought a grim look into his face, and she had no idea how to deal with him like that. Her and Gabriel were friends, sure, but she never felt like she truly knew him enough to know how to handle him on the rare times he got more emotional.

"God, he wouldn't be able to at all." He told her, a low laugh actually leaving him at the thought. "I could see Ana managing alright, but Jack? The second he was told to do something he didn't agree with, his cover is blown." 

“Could you imagine Angela?” Moira said. “She gets asked to research something she deems questionable, and suddenly she’s yelling about ethics for all to hear. She was bad enough with our hypothetical arguments, I couldn’t imagine her actually having to do human testing.”

“I can only imagine.” He shook his head. “I’ve heard enough of your arguments to last me for a lifetime.”

“It isn’t my fault she can’t comprehend that testing on humans is the best way to know how humans will react to something.” Moira tutted, taking a moment to fondly remember all those nights they had spent alight in an argument where neither wanted to concede that they both had a point.

Gabriel held up his hands. “Believe me, I do not need to hear a repeat of your arguments but directed at me now.” He protested, bringing Moira out of her thoughts. “More importantly, we should focus on business again.”

“It’s always about business, isn’t it?” Moira shook her head, going back to cleaning her face. “Fine. Overwatch has the weapon. A small Talon plan crumbles due to us being caught unaware. Now what?”

“Now we wait for our next opportunity. With Overwatch back, they’ll be quick to come. They’re more unpredictable now, with their technical illegality. I don’t think any of our higher ups will be able to know where they’re coming from. And we have the benefit of Sombra.” He nodded to his left, no doubt in the presumed location of the laboratory. “After all, look how well all that went. Even if someone like Doomfist demands to have the footage pulled, none of us can be blamed. Overwatch was a surprise.”

“Certainly. I made sure of so much on my part.” She shook her head. “Angela was quite difficult to get to concuss me though. She pulled out her gun like she was going to shoot me, but then she hesitated. I had to goad her into it.”

“At least you got it eventually. But what happened to your ear piece?” He asked, furrowing his scarred brow. “I assumed you weren’t replying because you were unconscious, but when I checked as I brought you here, it was gone.”

“Oh, that much was easy.” Moira chuckled. “I simply had Angela step on hers, and my own. She hardly noticed it was out until she stepped on it. I assumed she would notice quicker, with my nails, but I assume she was otherwise distracted.”

“I guess that’s one way of doing it.” He said, trailing off as he fell into his thoughts for a moment. “Well. All this doesn’t put a chip into our plans, but at least it’s a start. And as Overwatch starts doing more, it gives us all the more strings to pull.”

“Hopefully less strings involve me breaking my nose.” Moira noted, gingerly touching said nose with her fingers, then wincing and immediately pulling them away. “Eugh.”

“Get yourself cleaned up. I’ll help you get your… equipment on, and you can heal yourself.” He eyed the device near his feet as he spoke. He never did understand how it worked, and any explanation Moira tried to give had always gone right over his head. 

“Thank you.” She replied with a soft chuckle. “We could try to fit it on you, but...”

He was quick to shake his head. “I’ll leave all of it up to you.” He replied, which just made her chuckle more. He always had wanted nothing to do with her research… well, other than the research he specifically asked for. His horribly scarred face was hard for Moira to look at sometimes. If she had just had access to more testing...

“Very well. I suppose after that, we just wait for extraction.” She glanced in the same direction he had when he talked about the laboratory. “And then we see what we can do next."

As for what would be next… Moira silently, selfishly hoped it would involve seeing Angela again. Just seeing her today, however brief and messy it was, had sent waves of emotion to smack her around. As aloof as she had managed to act, now that she could simply feel whatever she was alight with fondness. She had tried not to think of Angela much after they went their separate ways, but even just seeing her on the list of Overwatch agents who had been recalled had sent her down memory lane. Seeing her there, hearing her voice… well, it was all a painful reminder that she was not over Angela Ziegler.

She let out a low sigh and gingerly touched her nose again, trying to figure out how badly it was broken. She could fawn over her ex-girlfriend later. There were more pressing (and painful) matters to attend to right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've written out a lot of what I had planned so updates may slow a bit as I figure out where exactly I want to take this. I have a bare idea, but I gotta flesh it out a bit more so I'm not flying by the seat of my pants.
> 
> I'd appreciate comments letting me know what you think! Comments and kudos are the lifeblood that keeps me motivated and writing, and I appreciate every single one. Thank you so much for all the existing ones I've gotten so far!!


	12. Chapter 12

The fly back to base was a quiet one. Everyone had seen how shaken Angela was when they regrouped, so Brigitte took care of patching everyone up. Thankfully, no one had any major injuries- Tracer had a nasty bruise on her side, Mei had a few shallow bullet graze cuts on her cheek and shoulder, but there wasn't much else. Pharah lamented being out of the fighting for so long, but after that, everyone fell silently into their seats on the ship back home. Angela sat with the weapon case on her lap, her hands resting one atop the other on it.

She was relieved no one was pressing her for answers. Tracer had explained about finding her there with someone knocked out- somehow, thankfully, she didn't recognize Moira. Everyone seemed to assume she was shaken up from just the confrontation as a confrontation, and she was in no hurry to say otherwise. She very much wanted to keep this to herself. After all, she had practically been the only one in old Overwatch who fully liked Moira. Everyone else always seemed so guarded around her. She didn't want to mention this to anyone. Selfishly, she wanted to keep it a secret for as long as she could, until she could fully understand it all. Moira was in Talon, and yet, she had very firmly told Angela to concuss her. Both of those facts were as true as they could be.

So what did it mean? Really. Was it just because it was Angela, or would Moira have asked it of anyone who walked in? And was that what Moira had been doing all these years since Overwatch split?

Suddenly, she was roughly thrust back to the day they split, her heart aching at just the mere memory of how she felt in that moment. Of being held in Moira's arms, as… as she told her she would be doing things Angela wouldn't agree with. That her and Gabriel had plans.

Hey. Hey wait a second!

Angela jolted upright, causing Brigitte to glance towards her with a raised eyebrow. But Angela didn't care, because she felt like she had just solved a puzzle she didn't even know she had in her hands. Five years ago, when Moira had said that Gabriel and her had plans, that Angela wouldn't agree with them, that they had to split so Moira wouldn't hold her back… were those plans Talon? Had all that time, Moira and Gabriel had been planning to join Talon? This was clearly thought of before Overwatch was shut down, Moira made that much obvious in the moment.

...had their meeting in the laboratory been the meeting Moira warned of Angela not approving of?

She slumped back in her seat, conflicting feelings running through her. No wonder Moira had refused to tell her… it was an insane idea, and Angela still couldn't comprehend the why of it. Why would she want to join Talon? The heavy case on her lap made it clear she wasn't interested in helping them… so why?

Suddenly, the memory of Jessie warning her about his bad feeling came to mind. Angela covered her face with her hand and let out a weak laugh. When it rained, it poured…

The return back to Gibraltar was much more somber than the departure. It was the wee hours of the morning, with only Winston and McCree there to greet them. Winston looked like he had just woken up. McCree looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"Everyone alright?" Winston asked once the ship doors opened and they all started pouring out. He was quick to walk over, giving everyone a once over. "I had- I had no idea Talon would come. I'm sorry everyone."

"Winston, it isn't your fault." Tracer reassured him while Angela handed him the weapon case. "There was no way you could have guessed that was the same day Talon broke in."

"They're awfully lucky we showed up the day we did!" Brigitte noted. "I don't know if those guards could have handled everything without us. I mean, we only got the weapon secured because of Tracer and Angela."

"Yeah, it's a real coincidence." Fareeha noted. "A bit too coincidental, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" Winston asked. "Like I said, I had no idea Talon was going to-"

"No, I know." Fareeha quickly reassured. "I'm not accusing you, Winston. But I think it's a bit too… coincidental that they asked for us out of the blue, and then the day of, Talon shows up to get exactly what we were there to guard."

Angela had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"So what do you think?" Mei asked. "Surely if they wanted us to protect the weapon, they would have just given it to us?"

"Do you think… someone on the Talon side set it up??" Brigitte asked, seeming to be confused by the very thought. "But that's crazy! Why would they do that?"

"I'm not saying anything." Fareeha told her with a shake of her head. "But I am pointing out that this doesn't feel right."

While they talked, McCree pulled Angela aside.

"It seems as though you were right." Angela told him, forcing a smile that barely lasted when his grim look didn't change.

"What happened there, Angela?" He asked. "You look real torn up about something. It's all over your face."

"Is it?" She knit her brow for a moment. "Ah… it's mostly the shock of it all, you don't need to worry. It happened very suddenly, and I suppose I'm still just stuck in that worrying about everyone state, despite us all being safe."

"Is it just that?" McCree raised an eyebrow at her. "I've seen you worried after missions, and this doesn't seem like that."

Angela winced. That was the biggest con of having known McCree for so long. He could read her like a book.   
"I… may have had a confrontation directly with a Talon agent." Angela said, purposefully keeping it vague in hopes he'd just assume it was a nobody like everyone else had. "I had to get defensive in order to make sure the weapon didn't fall into the wrong hands. You know how I am about violence."

"Did you..?"

"Goodness, no! Why does everyone keep assuming that?" Angela shook her head. "I just had to knock them out. But there was an uncomfortable amount of blood, and... it's got me rattled. That's all."

McCree didn’t look convinced, but he nodded anyway. “I’m here if you need me. You should go get some rest, though.”

“That’s the pot calling kettle. Have you had any sleep at all today, Jesse?” Angela asked, forcing on another smile. This one, she tried to keep. “We’re all back, and we’re all safe and sound. There’s nothing else to worry about.”

“Is there?” McCree wondered, before shaking his head and looking back at her. “You’re right. In the morning though, I think we’re all in for a big discussion about… all of this. We need to talk about how Talon either knew we were there, or someone knew Talon was coming.”

“They didn’t know.” Angela said, before internally kicking herself. She did not want to make it seem like she knew more than she was letting on.“I mean- I don’t think they did. They seemed pretty unprepared for us being there.”

McCree just let out a noise of confirmation in reply. “...get some sleep, Angela. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Tiredly, he tipped his hat towards her, did one last look towards the rest of the group, then walked off. Angela watched him leave, then looked towards everyone else and sighed. What was going to happen now?


	13. Chapter 13

“Explain to me how this happened.”

It was days after the attack on the laboratory. Moira and Gabriel had been scooped out and flown back to base. Moira had quickly healed her injuries, Gabriel’s had healed by themselves (as was intended), and it wasn’t long after the confirmation that they were both well and walking that they were quickly brought before Doomfist. Gabriel was the one under fire though- Moira was there because of the reason she was sent out in the first place, which was to keep an eye on Widowmaker.

Reaper stood behind Doomfist, who was looking out the widow of his office as he spoke. Moira stood off to the side, looking over a case of achievements and awards for martial arts that Doomfist had on display.

“We weren’t prepared for Overwatch.” He growled. “I had a team made for minor guards, not a bunch of trained Overwatch agents. If I had known they were going to be there, I would have had a lot of better people there.”

“And you can’t handle a loose group of barely trained Overwatch agents?” Doomfist asked, looking back at him.

“There were five of them, and only two weren’t a part of Overwatch before it closed. Those two have tight ties to Overwatch. They weren’t barely trained.” Reaper replied. “We’re lucky they didn’t have the damn monkey there. With how quickly we were split up, there wasn’t much we could do.”

“And why did you send Dr. O’Deorian to retrieve the weapon on her own?” He demanded. Reaper ever so slightly stiffened at that- Moira only noticed because she was looking for his reaction, slightly nervous herself at the mention of it.“You knew Overwatch was there by that point. I have seen the footage of the confrontation, and if you had been there instead, I highly doubt Overwatch would have it.”

“I had left the team behind to deal with the Overwatch agents. I had the device needed to turn off the alarms. Moira was closer to the floor with the weapon. We didn’t have a lot of time, and I knew meeting up with her, giving her the device, and heading up myself would take far too long. I wanted us to get in and out as quickly as we could.”

“Spare me the commentary.” Doomfist told him, raising a hand to get him to stop talking. “I am going to find out how we didn’t know Overwatch was coming. In the meantime, you will plan for Overwatch being at any future missions. I’d rather be overprepared than deal with this again. Do not fail me again.”

Reaper just grunted in reply. He was quickly dismissed, and slunk out of the room without so much as a glance towards Moira.

“Doctor.” Doomfist stated, and Moira was quick to fade over to his desk. As she reappeared, Doomfist made a small face of discomfort, though didn’t speak on it. “How is Lacroix?”

“Everything is how it should be.” Moira told him. “The most she seems to experience is mild disappointment when something goes badly, but that could entirely be from my projection onto her word choice.” 

Lying to Doomfist was certainly a risky choice. But it was one she did with confidence and casualness. Her research on Lacroix and her brainwashing had been fascinating, but when she discovered it had been done rather sloppily, she decided to make it a neo-Blackwatch secret. Gabriel expressed a wish to hopefully bring her back to a more stable state, once Talon was dealt with. He remembered her how she used to be, when she was just Gérard’s sweet wife. Moira wasn’t so sure- With a lot of therapy and time, she could no doubt become stable and emote properly, but she wouldn’t ever truly be herself again. 

“I see. That is the first good news I’ve gotten this week.” Doomfist told her, and Moira noted the way he relaxed somewhat as he spoke. “It is a relief to not have something else added onto the pile I have to deal with. Especially the pile stemming directly from the France mission.”

He turned to face her, seeming to be more good natured. From what Moira could guess anyway, she was terrible with this body language thing.

“If Lacroix is how she should be, then you’re free to go back to Oasis.” Doomfist told her. “We will call on you when you’re needed.”

O“Understood.” She said with a nod. “I hope my injuries and performance during the recent mission will not lead you to believe I’m not needed for boot on the ground missions. With Overwatch now being properly accounted for, I believe I will be able to function far better than I did today. I was able to get valuable research data on that mission despite how it went otherwise, and I know I would be able to get far more on a successful one.“

He gave her a curious look, but nodded. “I will keep that in mind. Dismissed.”

She nodded again and turned to leave. She hadn’t even intended to say that. Why would she want to go on Talon missions? She was a scientist, it wasn’t her job to be there. She doubted Doomfist understood her request either, especially after he had seen her get so badly hurt as she had been. So why did she..?

Ah. Angela. It all came back to Angela, didn’t it?

As Moira went through the motions of preparing her trip back to Oasis, she allowed herself a small mercy. She let herself mull over those bottled away feelings of her former lover, sip on them and remember memories they shared. Hours spent working together on their own projects, the arguing and bickering that started hostile, but melted into a routine and simulation for both their brains. For how broad their research in Overwatch could be, they had both gotten stagnant after a while. Their arguments were a way of heating the other up, getting them back to work with passion. There was also the benefit of a listening ear and a sharp mind to talk to when projects just weren't going the way they should have. 

She remembered fondly of their first actual date, set long after they realized they had meshed into a sort of couple, where they had gotten dinner at a restaurant that was barely a step above fast food, and Angela had made fun of her for still wearing her suit anyway. Moira still insisted she was casual, as she wasn't even wearing the jacket to it. They had eaten greasy food and tried to talk about anything that wasn't work, and Moira still remembered the way Angela's hair fell over her shoulders when it was down, and the glitter of the earrings she had on. 

As she latched up her suitcase and began to leave the building, she thought of their split, and when Overwatch fell. When Angela had to insist she had no idea who Moira was as journalists hounded her after she was discovered to be a part of Blackwatch. The last night they had spent together, filled with little comfort, but soft words trying to bring it anyway.

She sighed gently to herself. Her breakup with Angela had been far too soon, and she was left like this as a result. How embarrassing. As practical minded as she liked to act, Angela had always been a reminder that she was still very much human, and had all the feelings that came with it.

As she stepped into a car with darkened windows, she wondered that if, in a way, Angela was the reason she was doing… all of this. Years ago, would she have joined up with Talon in a heartbeat for all the options for her research? Would she have cared about the state of the world the way she did now? Would she have risked her life every single day then? She didn't think so. There was something about Angela that had balanced her out. By all means, she continued to do her research into genetics on Oasis and Talon's dime, and she still very much looked into human testing, but it was with far more care than it ever used to be when she wrote the paper that scorned her from the world.

Briefly, she wondered if she had ever gotten Angela to transfer her to be under Overwatch directly, if her reveal would have been handled better. After all, she could easily claim to be a changed woman trying to help Overwatch for the better, working under Angela Ziegler herself. 

A car, a plane, another car, and ten hours got Moira home. An apartment in Oasis, where she'd no doubt be spending a good while. Talon rarely needed her, and she was fine with that. She would take a few days to herself, and then it would be back to work. It was the same as it always was.

Moira unlocked her door, kicking aside the mail that had gathered on her floor and tossing her suitcase aside. First the door was shut and locked, then she loosened her tie, and then she picked up her mail. Same as it ever was indeed. Her mail was tossed onto the coffee table, then into the kitchen to grab a drink and a snack. Finally, she settled in on her armchair and shuffled through her mail, a cookie in her mouth as she flipped through all of it, idly thinking about getting her nails done on her day off as she flipped through junk mail.

And then she froze, cookie falling out of her mouth and onto her chest.

Because the letter she had in her hand was very much not junk mail, with her address written in a very familiar handwriting. It lacked a return address, but she didn't need one. She knew full well who this was.

Moira scrambled to her feet, snack all but forgotten as it tumbled to the ground. She tore open the envelope as quickly as she could, bringing the letter close to her face as her eyes scanned over the careful writing. Her breath caught in her throat as she read, suddenly feeling clammy.

_M.-_

_You know who this is._

_I'm not letting you get away with that meeting and no explanation._

_I'm coming to Oasis to see you. Expect me within a couple days. I'm getting my answers, and you're going to give them to me._

_-A._

Shit. She really was going to have to confront her feelings about Angela, wasn't she?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten about this, I promise!

Angela, back in Gibraltar and freshly after her mission, didn't last until the morning.

It was the middle of the night when she knocked on McCree's door, brows knit tightly. She needed to talk to someone about the mission, and it had to be someone who knew Moira. He fit the bill perfectly, and she trusted that he'd keep tight lipped about all of it.

Surprisingly, McCree opened the door pretty quickly. Even moreso, he didn't look shocked to see Angela there.  
"Come in." He told her, moving away from the door. "Something tells me you didn't get any sleep?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you so late, Jesse. I… I need to talk to you." Angela told him, crossing her arms over herself. They were both dressed simply. Angela noted how weird it was to see McCree without his hat.

"Something happened on that mission." He noted, sitting down in an armchair. He gestured to his bed, where Angela sat down, hugging herself softly. "Did you… did you actually end up having to kill someone?"

"No, it's…" Angela gestured vaguely as she tried to get the words out. "Jesse, Gabriel was there. ...Moira was too."

He had the exact reaction she expected. He inhaled sharply, his breath coming out far slower as his hands clenched into fists. He lowered his head a moment, his eyes shut. A moment, two, just to collect himself. Then he sighed and looked back at her. 

"I never did trust Moira. I don't know why you did." McCree started.

Angela raised her hands. "Please, let me finish. I… were you aware Gabriel is the Reaper now?"

McCree sighed. "Yeah, I had… heard some things. Never did want to believe it, but I guess you're going to force me to now." He shook his head. "Dramatic of him, but fitting." Those words were said with a lot more bitterness then Angela expected. "Maybe he should have stayed dead."

She pursed her lips. "He was there with Moira, and their group of Talon. I… she was the one getting the weapon. I had to meet her face to face again."

"So what? Did she laugh in your face for ever trusting her?" McCree asked coldly, crossing his arms. "Seems like somethin' she'd do."

"No- well, sort of, but not really? Jesse, don't look at me like that, it's complicated!" Angela frowned. "That's why I needed to talk to you. I needed someone who knows who Moira is, and what she… meant to me. How it was back when Overwatch was around."

"She's bad news, Angela." McCree told her, his expression taking on a more concerned look. "No wonder I had that bad feeling before you left."

"She isn't!" Angela insisted. "Please, Jesse, just listen. When we were there, she said all this stuff, but then when she came closer, she whispered to me to concuss her. She wanted me to take the weapon." She gestured as she spoke, getting emotional as she recalled the memory. "She practically let me take it! She said all this stuff to make me angry-"

"She always was good at that." He muttered.

"Jesse." She hissed. "She just… she worked me up until I hit her. She made me do that! She let me have the weapon. And… and…" she sighed. She was going to have to actually talk about their breakup. Angela had never fully told the story, just telling a few important figures that her and Moira weren't an item when the news of her being in Blackwatch came out. "Look. Before Overwatch shut down, Moira came to me looking like she was dying, and she asked for us to split. She told me she was going to be doing things that I wouldn't approve of- her and Gabriel. I think… I don't think they genuinely joined Talon."

Jesse frowned, glancing to the side. "...Angela. You know I wouldn't doubt ya. But… are you sure you're not lookin' too strongly into this? I know you cared a lot about Moira, and maybe you just don't wanna accept that she could join Talon. She was probably just trying to get into your head, back at the lab-"

"No, she wasn't. Jesse, please." Angela clasped her hands together. "I know you don't like Moira. But I know her, and I know what she said back then. I think Gabriel had her do something to him to keep him alive, and I think they joined Talon to help Overwatch. That's why they were there at the lab! They knew Overwatch would be there, and they knew Talon wanted the weapon, so they wanted to make sure we got it!"

"Angela, the lab hirin' Overwatch was a rushed decision. How would they know you'd be there? It doesn't make any sense."

"But, the scientists were also surprised we were there!" Angela replied, though she was faltering. "They… I… I don't know."

"You're looking too much into this." McCree frowned, though it was one of concern. He stood up and walked over to her, rubbing her shoulder. "I'm sorry Angela. You're like a sister to me, I hate seein' you like this. But you gotta realize that Moira was always a shadowy figure, even when you were dating. She's not a good person, morally. I don't think it's that much of a stretch that she woulda joined Talon."

"You're not understanding." Angela protested, putting her face in her hands. "I know Moira, and I know what she's told me. I know how she acted back in the lab."

"What good is it to wonder? It isn't like you can ask her." McCree replied. "She's on Talon now, Angela. You saw that yourself. I'm sorry."

But Angela paused, her brain latching onto the first part of his sentence and gripping onto it with a vice grip. She couldn't ask her? Why couldn't she? Moira was the Minister of Genetics in Oasis, her address would be easy to look up. She was basically a public figure. Angela rose to her feet quickly, a bewildered McCree looking up at her.

"Angela..?"

"McCree, you're a genius." Angela told him, a feverish twinkle to her eye. "I'll- I'll go ask her!"

"What?! Angela-"

"No, you're right!" She pulled away, pacing around his room. "I did see her there. I know she's with Talon. But I also know that isn't the whole story, and I know sitting here and wondering about it isn't going to get me my answers! So I'll go and ask her!"

"Angela, how would you do that?" McCree asked, knitting his eyebrows together. "Hang on!"

"She lives in Oasis! I'll go visit her!"

"Are you insane? You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Talon doesn't operate inside Oasis! And I already know Moira wouldn't hurt me, because she already had the chance to at the lab, and instead she forced me to hurt her!" She ran her fingers through her hair. "If I'm quick, I could explain it to Winston as a doctor thing. And then… and then…"

"Angela!" McCree stood up and put his hands on her shoulders, spinning her around. "Hold up now! Are you hearing yourself, doc?"

"McCree, you never liked Moira. You don't understand." Angela replied, shaking her head. "But I loved her. And I know what I heard. I need to get these answers from her."

McCree sighed. "Angela, you're going through this quicker then you probably should be. You should get some sleep before making a big decision like this, at the very least."

She tensed a bit, but sighed as she realized he had a point. She should get some sleep before going about raving about needing to go to Oasis. But she also knew that she had to do this, because she needed those answers from Moira.

"Alright." Angela told him, getting a relieved sigh from McCree in return. "You're right, Jesse. I'm getting ahead of myself."

"Thanks, doc." He told her with a forced smile, rubbing her shoulder. It faded as he spoke again. "I… I don't like any of this, and you know I don't like Moira. What if you're wrong? We can't lose you now because you did something stupid."

"Of course. But please, you have to understand. If Moira wanted me dead, she could have easily done it at the laboratory." She neglected to mention the dead body she had found outside of the room, for obvious reasons. She certainly wasn't comfortable with the idea that Moira had supposedly killed someone, but… she already knew she had in the past. And so had McCree beside her. And a lot of other people in Overwatch. It would be hypocritical to judge Moira for it and not anyone else.

...that was how she argued it to herself, anyway.

McCree looked off to the side for a second, then back to Angela.  
"I can't control what you do." He began with a sigh. "You're a grown woman, and you know what's best for you. But you're sounding like a crazy person. Get some sleep first, and think about what you want to do in the morning. I don't want you rushin' into something you'll regret." 

Angela just nodded in reply. He had a point. But she knew her heart was set on what she had to do. Sleep would only lead to her being more convinced about it.   
"I will. Thank you, Jesse." She let out a soft, breathy laugh. "I'm sorry if I sound hysterical. It's been a very stressful, confusing day."

"I get it. I do. I worked myself near sick over all of this. I knew something was going to happen." McCree replied reassuringly. "But I think that just means all the more that we should both get some sleep, yeah? And then we can talk in the morning."

"Right."

After a few more moments like that, Angela pulled away and bid McCree good night. She stepped out and watched the door close behind her, then began her swift walk back to her room, mind already abuzz with everything she'd need to prepare.

~

The next day passed without incident, McCree checking up on Angela in the morning. She mentioned nothing of the night's discussion, simply confirming that she had slept well and that she felt a lot better. McCree had made note of her sitting at her desk with a few balls of crumpled paper around her, though didn't comment on it. He assumed she had simply slept on her plans and decided against them, and was pleased about that. Anything regarding Moira was bad news, as far as he was concerned. He never liked the scientist and loathed the fact that Gabriel had ever brought her onto Blackwatch. Frankly, her joining Talon seemed like a perfectly reasonable route for her to go down.

Things only became different when he stepped into the kitchen at midday a couple days after that initial night, with Winston and Mei saying goodbye to a familiar voice. But the familiar figure wasn't there, her voice instead coming from a little screen.

"What's going on?" McCree asked cautiously, eyeing the phone.

"Just Angela calling us to let us know she got to the airport okay!" Mei chirped. "I don't know how she can fly again so soon, my stomach is still churning from our trip out to France."

"Airport? Where's she goin'?" He already knew where. He had to confirm it.

"She told me she was called over to Oasis for something related to work." Winston explained cheerfully. "It's a city run by scientists. Isn't that smart?"

"You should go there Winston! You'd fit right in!" Mei told him with a smile.

McCree wasn't listening to them. Because this meant that Angela hadn't changed her mind, and that one way or another, Moira was going to get her clawed little hands involved in everything once again. And Angela hadn't told him about her decision because she knew he'd tell her exactly that and more about Moira.

It was going to be a long day.


	15. Chapter 15

Moira spent a lot of the next few days pacing. It was difficult to do anything else.

Her brain refused to offer anything useful during this time, completely checking out to go on vacation until after Angela had come and left. It was over on the beach, enjoying the sun. However, that still left Moira to deal with everything, just with probably less thought then she would have liked. She had no idea if she even wanted to talk to Angela, or how it would even go. Would Angela hate her? Not see the forest for the trees and solely acknowledge that she was in Talon, and that that was bad, and so that must mean Moira is bad too? Or would she understand? Moira had tried to explain what she could of the plot before they had split up. She hoped Angela would remember that day. She hoped to anything that was listening that Angela wouldn't hate her.

Other than pacing? Moira spent a lot of time obsessively cleaning. She never had people over, let alone former lovers who she still admittedly had some sort of feelings for. Her apartment was scrubbed from top to bottom, not a spec out of place. Normally she rarely bothered to clean except for the little lab she had in her apartment, and it was when she finished this obsessive cleaning that she realized she… really didn't have much in her home. It was very empty. She just never had people over to make her realize that, but now that she had the thought of Angela in her home… did she need to order another chair??

She idly remembered how popular Angela always seemed to be when they were dating. They'd go out somewhere nice and she'd know someone, have to stop for a chat. She'd have little house parties with Overwatch friends sometimes, where Moira would just be Moira and the unscientifically minded (which was almost all of them) would have no idea about who she actually was. How did Angela do it? The mere idea of having one person she knew very well in her home was exhausting, yet she managed so many people with ease. She was just so much better at dealing with them then Moira thought she ever could be.

On the third day, when Moira was awkwardly painting over her slightly chipped nails, the door knocking nearly sent nail polish all over the room. Her gaze shot to the door as she screwed the lid back onto the little bottle. She only really had one thought in mind- did she want Angela here?

Well, did she?

Everything seemed to take years. Every step of the walk to the door, her undoing the lock, her slow twist of the handle, pulling on the door to look out into the hallway… 

There stood Angela Ziegler, looking like she hadn't slept the whole plane over, but exactly how Moira remembered her. She reminded her of those days spent in the lab, so close to finishing a project that she couldn't bear to pull away and sleep, with Moira occasionally bringing her coffee to help.

And then she shut the door in her face in a panic.

Okay, maybe that wasn't the smartest idea. But Moira had immediately started to panic when she saw Angela, and needed a minute to herself here.

A minute she wouldn't get though. The door didn't shut, and it took a quick glance down to reveal that the reason was Angela's foot shoved through the door. Angela shouldered her way in through the crack, half her face glaring at Moira.

"Moira O'Deorian, let me in!" She hissed.

"Depends. Are you here to-"

Moira couldn't even finish her sentence. With strength she certainly did not expect from Angela, she pushed her way into the room, slipping in enough before the door shut. Which left both women staring at each other expectantly, neither sure who was going to speak first. It got awkward real fast.

Moira's mismatched eyes glanced to the side, unsure if she should speak. Unsure if Angela would even want to hear her speak at all. Angela's eyes were firmly on her face, waiting, expecting for her to say something, anything at all.

"...I didn't realize you were so archaic as to send a physical letter." Moira awkwardly broke the silence with, getting a frustrated sound from Angela in return. "You can put your shoes by the door."

"Do not try to act coy!" She ordered, pointing a finger accusedly at Moira. "You know what I'm here for. I'm not leaving until I get it."

Moira let out an exasperated sigh, bringing a hand to her face. "Angela, what is there to explain that you don't already know? You're a smart woman. You can put two and two together."

"I need to hear it from you. I need the whole story." Angela told her, her tone staying firm. She really wasn't budging on anything right now. Moira couldn't help but admire her for it, even if it was a massive pain in her ass. "I refuse to let what happened back in France be all that I know. You need to explain things to me."

Instead though, Moira just pulled away to a cabinet, pulling out a glass and a decanter of whiskey, being careful not to stain it with her not-yet dry nails. While Angela watched her expectantly, she knocked back a glass and poured herself a second.

"Well," She began. "I broke up with you and joined Talon with Gabriel, and we've been doing that since Overwatch was disbanded."

Angela gave Moira a blank look. "Do you really think I'm going to be satisfied with that?"

Moira groaned, then gestured to a chair. "Fine then. Sit and let me explain."

Angela, to her credit, listened to that. She took a seat, clasping her hands together and resting them on her lap. Moira couldn't help but admire her for a moment. Angela in casual clothes was a sight for sore eyes. If she didn't look so frustrated, Moira would have pretended everything was how it used to be, just for a moment.

"...where do you want me to begin?" Moira asked.

"Back when Overwatch disbanded. That's where all this started."

Moira couldn't help but chuckle. "Angela, we had things in the works for a long time before then. I was hired on because Gabriel could see the flaws starting to show in Overwatch. Gabriel wanted me to simply make his goals easier to obtain, but I was brought into the loop soon enough. And then I met you, and you were such the distraction from my work, you know that?" She tutted softly. "Always with the arguing. You never could stand me."

"I still can't." Angela replied, though Moira could already see the cracks forming in her firm demeanor. Curiosity was leaking though, as well as what Moira thought might have been interest in her past the answers she'd provide. She hoped she wasn't projecting that.

"Right, right. Well… when Overwatch really started dissolving and Blackwatch was discovered, Gabriel and I had already set our plans into motion. It was too soon for my research though, as I didn't have the chance to do human testing."

"So you did it on yourself."

She nodded. "Who the better test subject? I was desperate. I microdosed, but it still almost killed me. And then the day after, we split."

Angela frowned. "You looked terrible. I thought you had died."

"Thanks." Moira snorted. "But you weren't wrong. I did almost die. And now…"

She blew on her nails awkwardly before very carefully rolling up the sleeve on her right arm. She offered the arm to Angela, who hesitated a moment before running her fingers up the veins. Moira's skin was dry and brittle, feeling more like sandpaper than skin. Angela put a hand on her wrist.

"... nothing." She murmured.

"I can't quite feel anything with it, either. Aside from it sometimes deciding to remind me of what I've done." Moira noted, pulling her arm away. "It's not fully over half my body, but it extends over my shoulder and down my side as well."

"Why?" Angela asked, looking up at her. "Why would you maim yourself like this?"

"I told you. I didn't have any test subjects." Moira explained with a shrug as she fixed her sleeve. "But we didn't have the time for me to be doing any testing. You saw how it was when I was revealed to be apart of Blackwatch. You think I could have somehow squeezed in proper testing?" She shook her head as she spoke, then sipped her drink before continuing. "Animal testing had long since been finished regardless. But I had to make sure it would work on humans. And what a hypocrite I would be to be trying to improve humanity and not improve myself."

"So what were you trying to do?" Angela asked, eyebrows knitting together. "Was it that… smoke thing you did?"

Moira rose an eyebrow, setting down her glass. She vanished, quickly reappearing directly in front of Angela, who jolted in surprise.

"I have grown to refer to it as 'fading'." Moira informed her.

Angela just looked at her with wide eyes, opening and closing her mouth a few times before speaking. "...how could you do this to yourself?" She asked softly.

"You make it sound like I've horribly maimed myself. Really, you should see Gabriel." Moira did idly look at her right hand through, glancing over her scars. "Regardless, it's quite the boon. Anyway, shall I continue?"

"So." She steepled her fingers. "Testing barely scraped by on myself. But I had lived, and it was enough for Gabriel. We simply didn't have the time."

"Right, but…" Angela furrowed her brow. "Why… why join Talon?"

"The writing was on the wall for Overwatch. But we knew that someone had to properly continue on it's legacy, and you were all too goodie-two-shoes to do it yourself. After all, that was why Blackwatch existed, no?" She smirked at her. "Such a flawed way of thinking. You all want to help the world so badly, but can't bare the thought of breaking a few laws to do so. But we weren't."

"Blackwatch always worked in the shadows, Angela. All we did was move the shadows we slunk in. Besides, what could be a better way to take down Talon then from within? Of course, we were working on a plan for how to help when Overwatch came back, but you came back far sooner than we expected. I have to give Winston some credit, he always was dedicated to his family." Moira couldn't help but chuckle fondly at that. "I always did like that ape. Regardless, we kept it a secret from all of you because we knew we had to. Gabriel and Jack were always at each others throats, and I knew members of Overwatch were just looking for excuses to get me away from their golden girl."

She couldn't help herself- she reached over and tapped the tip of Angela's nose, making her go cross-eyed for a moment. "You always were everyone's favourite. Even mine, I suppose."

"So… in France… is that how you knew we were there?" Angela asked, bringing a hand up to her nose as Moira pulled away. 

Moira couldn't help but laugh. "Knew you were there? Angela, we're the reason you were there in the first place! Who do you think got the letter sent? It was Sombra pulling her strings."

That name made Angela jolt. "Sombra? That hacker group?" Just what kind of friends had Moira made?

"Group? No, Sombra is one person." She shook her head. "Quite the intelligent young woman as well. Regardless, we knew the weapon held in that laboratory would be safest in Overwatch hands, and we knew we would be sent out to retrieve it. Our failure would only be believable with Overwatch there. Though I can't say I ever expected them to send you…"

"Wait- then what was with how you acted in the weapon room?" Finally, she'd hopefully be getting answers to her most nagging questions.

Moira pursed her lips. "Well… I wasn't sure if Doomfist would order footage pulled from the laboratory to see why exactly we lost the weapon. I had to make sure that if he did, you wouldn't be put in danger. After all… well, Talon is Talon. I'm sure you can figure out what they do to those who they think might pose a threat. So… I acted high and mighty for the cameras, and forced you to act in a believable way to aid me with that. I had you destroy both our earpieces so that we wouldn't be overheard."

That was why it looked like Angela had stepped on more than just one earpiece! But… goodness, how deep did this all go?

Moira, finished talking for now, simply sat down and crossed her legs. She raised an eyebrow at Angela.

"Well? Are you satisfied?"

Angela opened her mouth for a second, then shut it as she thought. Was she satisfied? 

"...why didn't you ever tell me?" She asked, her voice soft.

Moira snorted. "Angela, we both know how you are. You either would have told me I was insane, or, god forbid, asked to have helped me. If someone demanded you test on an unwitting human subject, would you have been able to do that to keep your cover?" She pointed out, crossing her arms and gesturing over at her. "And that's even if anyone would believe you. Gabriel was the shady Blackwatch leader who got snubbed at every turn by Overwatch, refusing to ever let him advance properly in it's ranks, instead focusing on the golden shiny boy Jack. I am a disgraced scientist who has been shunned by more than I'd like to admit over a paper because I dared push the boundaries of what should be considered acceptable in the eyes of helping humanity overall improve. You are Overwatch's angel of mercy, all pretty and pure and dainty."

Angela had opened her mouth to object, but shut it after she realized… no, actually, Moira was right. She probably would have demanded Moira let her help somehow, and probably wouldn't have been much help at all. Moira cheekily rose an eyebrow at Angela, as though she knew the conclusion she had come to.

"...so that was why you broke up with me then?" Angela then asked in a soft tone. "Not for my reputation if we were found out?"

That wiped the smug look off Moira's face instantly. "I… that is a difficult question, Angela."

"How?"

Moira sighed, shuffling awkwardly. "Well… it's… yes, it's certainly most of it. Really, reputation wise, I'm sure we could have spun it around that I was working under you to become a better person or whatnot. We did often work together, and the nature of my research was never discovered."

Angela considered that answer. And then some part of her wondered… it wondered if that meant if Talon was taken care of, if they could be something again. Some part of Moira wondered about it as well.

Moira ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Well… there are your answers. Gabriel and I had plans to join Talon to break it down from the inside out and to aid Overwatch once it returned. I nearly killed myself for my research. I acted in such a way in France because I needed to protect myself should camera footage get pulled. And…" She hesitated. "And I'm going to keep doing all of this, with the hope that it will keep you safe."

Angela stared up at Moira, who didn't meet her eyes. 

"Moira." She said softly, just to get that mismatched gaze to meet hers. It worked, Moira looking over at her and raising an eyebrow. Moira idly noted how Angela usually was the only one she could look directly in the eyes without feeling uncomfortable, and that hadn't changed in their years apart.

"Did… did you ever think about me? After we broke up?" She asked her hesitantly, as though afraid of what the answer could be.

Moira let out a weak little chuckle. "The romantic answer would be to say everyday, wouldn't it? Well… not every day, but frequently. A lot reminds me of you, Angela." 

"The… the first day back in Gibraltar, I remember thinking about you." Angela said, offering a small smile of her own. "I had heard rumours that you might have joined Talon. I had hoped they were just rumours, that you were just… doing your Minister thing in Oasis."

"Well, hopefully this truth is easier to swallow." Moira slowly began walking over to Angela, walking around her chair. Her hand caressed the top of the back of the seat, nails brushing against her companion's hair. "I have to say… if Talon had approached me before Gabriel, things would have played out differently. But you made me a better person, you know."

Angela looked up at her. "Me? How?"

"How? Angela, were we not always arguing into the night about god knows what?"

"Those actually changed your opinions on things? But you always sounded so confident in yourself!" Angela protested. 

Moira just laughed, tucking her bangs behind her ear. "Angela, I just liked to see you all worked up. It was fun to see the great Dr. Ziegler all flustered and explosive."

She let out a noise of protest, then looked away from Moira. "But you did change your opinion."

Moira hummed in reply. "Well, yes and no. I see it more as just adapting my viewpoint when faced with new information. Like any good scientist. Regardless, my original point wasn't about opinions anyway. You made me a better person by making me want to be good in your eyes. It's why I went through all of this." Moira paused a moment, before sheepishly adding, "I was afraid you would hate me, you know. But I thought that would be fine if it meant I could help. Someone has to do the dirty work. That was why Blackwatch was created, after all."

Angela just stared up at her for a moment, before rising to her feet. As usual, Moira towered over her, but she absolutely didn't care at the moment.

"...did you… did you ever stop…" Her words were hesitant, unsure. Did she want to bite that bullet? Cross a line she certainly couldn't come back from? "Moira, do you still love me?" 

Moira looked down at her, pure surprise etched into her face from the boldness of the question. But it melted into a gentle, tender smile. "I never stopped, mo fhíorghra."

That was the answer Angela wanted. She leaned up, carefully pulling Moira in close to kiss her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The big remeeting scene! Don't think it's going to end here though, I have a lot to write for them. Thank you all for so many hits and bookmarks and kudos!! Nothing I've written before has gotten so much attention, it makes me so happy! I have one humble request though, if you've been liking what you've been reading, I'd appreciate some kind of comment! They're really what keeps me going, I love seeing what people think, and they 100% motivate me to keep writing this. Thank you! And thank you for everything I've gotten so far! I never would have thought this would have done numbers like this ❤️❤️


	16. Chapter 16

Their lips never quite met.

Moira had carefully put her thumb in front of her lips, stopping Angela a few centimetres away from her face.

"We shouldn't." She whispered to her. "Not now."

Angela looked up at her, eyebrows knit together. "But…"

"Think for a moment, Angela. You have a very smart brain in that pretty little head of yours." Moira gave her a gentle smile, her hand now cupping her cheek. "We are supposed to be enemies, yes? We can't overindulge in one night together. How could you possibly concuss me again if needed if we do?"

Angela couldn't help but laugh gently. "I hardly did it that hard anyway…"

"Oh, no, Angela. You did it quite hard. I'm very impressed with your strength, I was bleeding quite badly. You ended up breaking my nose, as well."

Angela flushed a dark red, immediately looking anywhere else but Moira. That just got Moira to laugh, her thumb running over her bottom lip. Her nail poked into the flesh gently, and Angela noted the faint smell of nail polish. 

"I certainly won't put you in the position where you have to kill me, but I do want you to be able to maim should it become necessary." Moira noted casually, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to consider. "After all, if Talon caught on, I don't think either of us would make it out of there alive. I am a good liar, but not that good."

"You sound like you've thought about this before." Angela noted.

It was Moira's turn for her cheeks to go red. She pulled back a bit, awkwardly coughing into her fist. "Er, well… it is… possible that I may have considered what it would be like if this scenario would happen." She hesitantly replied, not looking Angela in the eyes. "But I certainly wouldn't have expected such a… immediate reciprocation."

Angela smiled gently. "We… we were good together. Our splitting up was very sudden, it made it difficult for me to move on. Overwatch coming to a close might have been the right call, but I don't think leaving you was. I always missed our old normal. It would be nice to have it back."

Moira slowly looked back down to Angela, who was resting close to her chest. "Our old normal was nice, wasn't it?" Moira mused, lowering her hand to stroke Angela's ponytail. "But how would that have carried out past Overwatch, hm? Could you see me in Egypt, doctoring the sick and needy the way you do?"

"You could always be my assistant." Angela offered, a twinkle in her eye.

That made Moira throw her head back and laugh, pulling Angela into a one armed hug against her chest. Kissing was too far, but Moira couldn't refuse the chance to hold her again, even just for a small moment. Angela was just how she remembered, soft and warm, with a hint of muscle pressing against her when she held her close. She had a strong body, but strong from caring for the sick, not from fighting. She had a little more squish about her too, reminding Moira of the comment she had made previously about Angela upping her estrogen. It certainly seemed more likely now, as she felt around her hip. Being so feminine certainly suited Angela nicely, and it certainly seemed to be what the doctor preferred.

"How would that go over if I got recognized?" Moira purred in amusement. "'Hey, isn't that the disgraced Dr. O'Deorain? What is she doing here?' You see, I am here to hand Dr. Ziegler coffee and her scalpel."

"And be easy on the eyes." Angela added playfully.

"Easy on the eyes as well? You put so much of a workload on my shoulders." She tutted, giving Angela's hip a little squeeze. "How is one woman supposed to handle all of this?" Okay, now her own resolve was crumbling. Looking down at such a happy Angela, with those pretty little lips in that familiar smile that felt like home… she just wanted to spend the night kissing her. But she had to hold strong, for the sake of her wellbeing.

Those lips were really kissable though…

To keep herself from such a devilish temptation (really, she could perfectly see Mercy in a set of devil horns and a tail…), she pulled away from her and faded to her whiskey glass. Mostly to pull herself as far away from the temptation as she could.

"Oh, how rude of me. I never did offer you a drink." Moira looked back to Angela, who seemed a little shaken at the fading. Moira wondered if she ever would get used to it.

"Ah… no, that's alright." Angela said once she got her wits back, sitting down in her seat once again.

"Ah, that's right. You never could handle anything strong." Moira grinned a little at that, raising her glass to her lips. "...hm. This already feels like the old normal, doesn't it?"

"...will we get the old normal?" Angela asked. "Obviously we can't pull back into what we used to have now." Calmed down from all her excitement, Angela did have to note that Moira had a point about her safety. "But… after?"

Moira paused, then smiled at Angela. "When Talon is done with, I would marry you if you let me." She said with a laugh, though she was partly serious. The thought had crossed her mind a few times before they split…

Angela looked at her in surprise for a few moments, before flushing and laughing shyly. “Well… maybe I’ll hold you to that.”

“I encourage it.” She winked back at Angela. “Now then, how long are you in Oasis for? I presume not long, you sounded fairly angry with me when you arrived. I doubt you would have planned to stay for long if all you wanted was answers.”

“Ah...” Angela hesitated. She wouldn’t have minded forgoing her plane back and staying with Moira, but that would have continued to make the whole ‘can’t get too lovey’ rule a lot harder to hold. “Not long. A day at most. I didn’t… I had hoped it wouldn’t be something awful, but there was no way for me to know.”

"Naturally." She took a moment to sip her drink, trying to resist that urge she had to invite Angela to stay as long as she wanted. "Well then, I'd be happy to bring you to your plane, should Overwatch not be coming to collect you. It's the least I could do."

"You could come back to my hotel too, if you wanted." She offered. "Er- just so you don't have to make the trip over, I mean. I know we're trying to keep this from… being anything right now."

Moira shook her head. "Unfortunately, it might be too much of a risk. Sombra has ensured there's nothing here from Talon that's observing or listening in to me, and I can't say the same about your hotel. In fact, it's quite a relief that you came here for your answers."

"...why would Sombra make sure of that?"

Moira snorted. "I'm the only one in our little espionage group who has a stable house and job. Sombra is always on the move in general, and Gabriel is legally dead. However, legally I am simply the Minister of Genetics, and I'm certainly quite alive. So, we have our meetings here, usually. Though occasionally they’re in my office. Which usually means Sombra hacks the camera system to make it seem as though I’m simply enjoying some time on my balcony." 

“I… see.” Angela never doubted Moira had thought out her plans thoroughly, but this really was proving how thoroughly. 

“But… I would be more than happy to see you off.” Moira added, with a gentle smile. “But please, next time you want answers, don’t send such a panic inducing letter.”

That caused the other to let out an indignant noise. “I didn’t want you running off!” She protested. “And I didn’t know about… all of this! I mean, for all I knew, maybe you did go and join Talon!”

“Whatever you say… As if I could refuse any sort of request from you.” Moira smiled again as she brought her glass to her lips. “Well then… Angela… Dr. Ziegler… Mercy. I suppose it is time we get back to being enemies, hm? Though I don’t need you to concuss me this time.”

“I suppose it is.” Angela agreed, wondering what their next meeting would look like.


End file.
